Indicator 2: Frequent Mental Distress

• The BRFSS also assesses general mental health status. Respondents were asked to report how many of the previous 30 days their mental health was not good because of stress, depression, or problems with emotions. People who reported 14 or more days of poor mental health were defined as having frequent mental distress (FMD). This definition uses a 14-day minimum period because many health care providers and researchers use a similar duration of mental distress as a marker for clinical depression and anxiety disorders.
• The prevalence of FMD varies among racial and ethnic groups. According to the 2004 BRFSS, among Americans aged 65 or older, the prevalence of FMD was lower among non-Hispanic whites (5.9%) and Asians and Pacific Islanders (6.1%) compared with Native Americans and Alaska Natives (8.4%), non-Hispanic blacks (9.8%), and Hispanics (11.2%).
• Call to action:
  • Addressing frequent mental distress among older adults

Location Data C.I.* Rank† Grade‡ United States 6.3 n/a n/a n/a Alabama 9.6 (8.1 - 11.4) 50 Alaska 8.1 (5.1 - 12.7) 47 Arizona 6.3 (5.0 - 7.9) 24 Arkansas 6.4 (5.3 - 7.8) 27 California 8.5 (6.9 - 10.5) 48 Colorado 5.3 (4.7 - 6.8) 8 Connecticut 5.7 (4.7 - 6.9) 15 Delaware 6.2 (5.0 - 7.6) 20 District of Columbia 8.0 (5.6 - 11.2) 46 Florida 7.0 (5.9 - 8.4) 36 Georgia 6.3 (5.1 - 7.7) 24 Hawaii§ 3.8 (2.5 - 5.8) 1 Idaho 6.2 (5.2 - 7.5) 20 Illinois 5.3 (4.2 - 6.5) 8 Indiana 5.7 (4.8 - 6.8) 15 Iowa 4.2 (3.4 - 5.2) 2 Kansas 5.0 (4.2 - 6.0) 6 Kentucky 10.3 (9.1 - 11.7) 51 Louisiana 7.2 (6.0 - 8.6) 41 Maine 6.4 (5.0 - 8.0) 27 Maryland 7.7 (6.1 - 9.6) 45 Massachusetts 6.2 (5.3 - 7.4) 20 Michigan 5.8 (4.8 - 7.1) 17 Minnesota 4.2 (3.3 - 5.2) 2 Mississippi 7.0 (5.9 - 8.3) 36 Missouri 6.8 (5.6 - 8.3) 31 Montana 5.6 (4.5 - 7.1) 14 Nebraska 5.2 (4.4 - 6.1) 7 Nevada 7.2 (5.3 - 9.8) 41 New Hampshire 5.8 (4.8 - 7.1) 17 New Jersey 7.1 (6.3 - 8.0) 38 New Mexico 6.5 (5.6 - 7.6) 29 New York 6.7 (5.7 - 8.0) 30 North Carolina 7.2 (6.3 - 8.1) 41 North Dakota 5.4 (4.3 - 6.8) 11 Ohio 7.1 (5.6 - 9.0) 38 Oklahoma 7.3 (6.4 - 8.3) 44 Oregon 6.3 (5.2 - 7.8) 24 Pennsylvania 4.9 (4.0 - 5.9) 5 Rhode Island 6.8 (5.6 - 8.3) 31 South Carolina 7.1 (6.0 - 8.4) 38 South Dakota 5.3 (4.5 - 6.3) 8 Tennessee 6.8 (5.5 - 8.5) 31 Texas 6.9 (5.7 - 8.2) 35 Utah 6.2 (4.9 - 7.8) 20 Vermont 4.8 (4.0 - 5.8) 4 Virginia 5.4 (4.4 - 6.6) 11 Washington 5.8 (5.2 - 6.5) 17 West Virginia 9.1 (7.7 - 10.7) 49 Wisconsin 6.8 (5.5 - 8.4) 31 Wyoming 5.5 (4.4 - 6.8) 13

Make comparisons Healthy People 2010 Targets

= Upper Third (top performing 33%)   = Middle Third (middle 33%)   = Lower Third (lowest performing 33%)         * A confidence interval (CI) describes the level of uncertainty of an estimate and specifies the range in which the true value is likely to fall. The State of Aging and Health in America online report uses a 95% level of significance, which means that 95% of the time, the true value falls within these boundaries.         † Rankings are based on the relative numeric scores for each indicator, with a ranking of "1" indicating the highest rank.         ‡ Grades are calculated as tertiles (thirds) and show state performance relative to all other states.         § 2003 data are used for Hawaii because no 2004 data exist.           Note: When comparing prevalence of variables across states or years, we recommend the use of confidence intervals. If the confidence intervals overlap, the difference is not statistically significant.