Mental illness affects both sexes, although many
types of mental disorders are more prevalent
among women. Among adults interviewed in
2001–03, 23.0 percent of women had experienced
any anxiety disorder in the past year,
compared to 13.8 percent of men. Post-traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD) is a type of mental
disorder that can occur in those who have experienced
or witnessed life-threatening events such as
natural disasters, serious accidents, terrorist
incidents, acts of war, or violent personal assaults
such as rape.1 While PTSD was previously
thought of as primarily affecting male war
veterans, it is now understood that the disorder
affects both sexes and is actually more prevalent in
females (5.2 versus 1.8 percent). Other common
mental disorders include social phobia, generalized
anxiety disorder, and major depressive
disorder, all of which are more common among
women than men.
Among women, mental disorders are most
common among those aged 18–25 years. Serious
psychological distress occurs among almost
23 percent of women in this age group, compared
to nearly 16 percent of women aged 26–49 years
and 9.0 percent of women aged 50 years and
older. Major depressive disorder displays a similar
pattern, occurring most frequently among those
women 18–25 years (12.9 percent), compared to
26- to 49-year-olds and those aged 50 years and
older (10.5 and 6.6 percent, respectively).
Although most people who suffer from mental
illness do not commit suicide, mental illness is a
major risk factor. Women attempt suicide three
times as often than men, but men are much more
likely to die of suicide injury than women.2 In
2004, the female suicide death rate among those
aged 15 years and older was 5.7 per 100,000
females, compared to a rate of 22.4 per 100,000
males. Although mental disorders affect women
in younger age groups more often than women
in older age groups, women aged 45–54 years
have the highest suicide death rate among females
(8.6 per 100,000). Among males, the highest
suicide death rate occurs in the 65–84 age group
(27.2 per 100,000).
There are also disparities in suicide rates among
racial and ethnic groups. Among females aged
15 years and older, American Indian/Alaska
Natives have the highest suicide rate (8.0 per
100,000 females), followed by non-Hispanic
Whites (6.8 per 100,000). Non-Hispanic Black
females have the lowest suicide rates among all
racial and ethnic groups (2.3 per 100,000),
closely followed by Hispanic females (2.5 per
100,000).
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HORIZONTAL BAR CHART: Selected Mental Disorders Among Adults Aged 18 and Older in the Past Year, by Sex, 2001-03
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VERTICAL BAR CHART: Serious Psychological Distress or Major Depressive Episode Among Women Aged 18 and Older, by Age, 2005
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VERTICAL BAR CHART: Suicide Death Rates Among Females Aged 15 Years and Older, by Age, 2004
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VERTICAL BAR CHART: Suicide Death Rates Among Females Aged 15 Years and Older, by Race/Ethnicity, 2003
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