As many as 26% of adults in the UK have experienced mental illness, according to figures produced by the HSCIC.
The survey of 5491 people showed that depression was the most commonly diagnosed, with 19% of those who reported having a mental health issue having the condition. Additionally, half of the men and women who reported ever being diagnosed with a common mental disorder said that they had experienced the condition in the last 12 months. A further 6% of men and 7% of women reported having taken medication or having had therapy for a common mental disorder but not having experienced it in the last 12 months.
‘These results underline just how prevalent mental health problems really are. They can happen to anyone at any time,’ said Stephen Buckley, head of information at Mind, the mental health charity. ‘That’s why we not only need to talk more openly about them but also ensure that health and other services are adequately resourced to cope with demand and get people the help they need, when they need it.’
The report also found that rates of common mental disorders were higher among women at 31% than men at 17%. It also identified a socioeconomic disparity in mental health, showing that men and women, 27 and 42 per cent respectively, living in lower income households were more likely to have ever been diagnosed with a mental illness, compared with men and women in the highest income bracket, with 15% and 25% respectively.
Alison Neave, a statistician for the HSCIC said: ‘The survey shows that one in four adults have experienced some form of diagnosed mental illness in their lifetime. We hope that these new data will be useful to commissioners of mental health services.’