Top 5 articles on mental health in the US

One in five Americans will develop mental illness in their lifetime and more than 50% of adults and children with mental illness did not receive treatment in the last year, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

In honor of Mental Illness Awareness Week, which takes place from October 2 to 8, Healio.com/Psychiatry gathered five articles that illustrate the significance of mental illness in the U.S.

President Obama signs CARA into law, urges importance of funding for addiction treatment

Following approval in the House by a vote of 407-5 and in the Senate by a vote of 92-2, President Barack Obama, JD, recently signed S. 524, the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, into law. However, he expressed concern regarding the Republican party’s response to funding treatment for individuals with addiction. Read more

Analysis shows large racial disparities in mental health care for children, young adults

Mental health care visits were significantly lower among black and Hispanic children and young adults, compared with their white peers, according to recent findings. Read more

Suicide prevalence more than doubles when accounting for index attempt deaths

Including index suicide attempt deaths in analysis more than doubled suicide prevalence rates, suggesting inclusion of index and subsequent attempt deaths more accurately determines prevalence. Read more

Persistent mental disorders rare across 3 decades of adulthood

Recent findings indicated a small proportion of the population will experience persistent mental illness across multiple decades of adulthood, despite the potentially large proportion who may experience mental illness at some point in adulthood. Read more

ED length-of-stay significantly longer for individuals requiring psychiatric care

Analysis of national data for ED visits between 2002 and 2011 indicated that differences in length-of-stay between individuals with psychiatric and non-psychiatric visits did not decrease over time, suggesting insufficiencies in psychiatric care in the ED. Read more