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Frequent Mental Distress - Women
Frequent Mental Distress - Women in United States
United States

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United States Value:

19.4%

Percentage of women ages 18-44 who reported their mental health was not good 14 or more days in the past 30 days

Frequent Mental Distress - Women in depth:

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Frequent Mental Distress - Women by State

Percentage of women ages 18-44 who reported their mental health was not good 14 or more days in the past 30 days




Frequent Mental Distress - Women Trends

Percentage of women ages 18-44 who reported their mental health was not good 14 or more days in the past 30 days

Trend: Frequent Mental Distress - Women in United States, 2022 Health Of Women And Children Report

Percentage of women ages 18-44 who reported their mental health was not good 14 or more days in the past 30 days

United States
Source:

 CDC, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System

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Frequent Mental Distress - Women

Trend: Frequent Mental Distress - Women in United States, 2022 Health Of Women And Children Report

Percentage of women ages 18-44 who reported their mental health was not good 14 or more days in the past 30 days

United States
Source:

 CDC, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System






About Frequent Mental Distress - Women

US Value: 19.4%

Top State(s): Hawaii: 14.9%

Bottom State(s): Arkansas: 27.8%

Definition: Percentage of women ages 18-44 who reported their mental health was not good 14 or more days in the past 30 days

Data Source and Years: CDC, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2019-2020

Suggested Citation: America's Health Rankings analysis of CDC, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, United Health Foundation, AmericasHealthRankings.org, accessed 2023.

A healthy mental state is essential to overall positive health and well-being. Frequent mental distress aims to capture the population experiencing persistent, and likely severe, mental health issues, defined by 14 or more days of poor mental health a month. A strong relationship exists between the 14-day period and clinically diagnosed mental disorders, such as depression and anxiety.

Populations suffering from severe mental illness and frequent mental distress have a higher prevalence of risky health behaviors, including smoking, alcohol use, unhealthy diet and lack of free-time physical activity. These health behaviors are known to increase the risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease. Certain factors that cause stress, such as housing insecurity, food insecurity and insufficient sleep, are also related to frequent mental distress. In some cases, poor mental health can lead to suicide, the second-leading cause of death among females ages 10-24 and the third-leading and fourth-leading cause of death among those ages 25-34 and ages 35-44, respectively. 

Poor mental health can lead to costly treatments or missed economic opportunities. In 2009 the direct costs of mental health disorders among women were nearly $85 billion, with over $20 billion spent on depression-related care. Among pregnant women and their children, untreated perinatal mood and anxiety disorders cost the United States roughly $14 billion.

The prevalence of frequent mental distress is higher among:

  • Women ages 18-24 compared with women ages 25-44.
  • Multiracial and American Indian/Alaska Native women compared with Black, Hispanic and Asian women.
  • Women with less education compared with college graduates. 
  • Women with annual household incomes less than $25,000, who have a prevalence more than double that of those with incomes of $75,000 or more. The prevalence was lower with each increase in income level.

Although occasional short periods of mental distress and a few poor mental health days may be unavoidable, more prolonged and serious episodes are treatable and potentially preventable through early intervention. Universal preventive interventions to promote social and emotional skills may be effective in reducing anxiety and depression. Mental health parity laws that improve insurance coverage for mental health are associated with better mental health care access, lower out-of-pocket costs, reduced prevalence of poor mental health and lower suicide rates. Collaborative care models, which join primary care providers and mental health specialists, are also effective in managing depressive disorders. Continued monitoring of frequent mental distress trends may help identify unmet social and mental health needs and inform future interventions. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has a resources page for mental health, including a mental health services locator.

Healthy People 2030 has several objectives related to mental health, including: 

  • Increasing the proportion of primary care visits where adolescents and adults are screened for depression.
  • Increasing the proportion of adults with depression who get treatment.
  • Increasing the proportion of adults with serious mental illness who get treatment. 
  • Increasing the proportion of homeless adults with mental health problems who get mental health services.

Arango, Celso, Covadonga M. Díaz-Caneja, Patrick D. McGorry, Judith Rapoport, Iris E. Sommer, Jacob A. Vorstman, David McDaid, et al. “Preventive Strategies for Mental Health.” The Lancet Psychiatry 5, no. 7 (July 2018): 591–604. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(18)30057-9.

Caceres, Billy A., Abraham A. Brody, Perry N. Halkitis, Caroline Dorsen, Gary Yu, and Deborah A. Chyun. “Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Sexual Minority Women (18-59 Years Old): Findings from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2001-2012).” Women’s Health Issues 28, no. 4 (July 1, 2018): 333–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.whi.2018.03.004.

Heron, Melonie. “Deaths: Leading Causes for 2019.” National Vital Statistics Reports 70, no. 9 (July 1, 2021). https://doi.org/10.15620/cdc:107021.

Hydes, Theresa J., Robyn Burton, Hazel Inskip, Mark A. Bellis, and Nick Sheron. “A Comparison of Gender-Linked Population Cancer Risks between Alcohol and Tobacco: How Many Cigarettes Are There in a Bottle of Wine?” BMC Public Health 19, no. 316 (March 28, 2019). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-019-6576-9.

Liu, Yong, Rashid Njai, and Kurt J. Greenlund. “Relationships Between Housing and Food Insecurity, Frequent Mental Distress, and Insufficient Sleep Among Adults in 12 US States, 2009.” Preventing Chronic Disease 11 (March 13, 2014). https://doi.org/10.5888/pcd11.130334.

Luca, Dara Lee, Caroline Margiotta, Colleen Staatz, Eleanor Garlow, Anna Christensen, and Kara Zivin. “Financial Toll of Untreated Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders Among 2017 Births in the United States.” American Journal of Public Health 110, no. 6 (June 1, 2020): 888–96. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2020.305619.

Massetti, Greta M., Cheryll C. Thomas, Jessica King, Kathleen Ragan, and Natasha Buchanan Lunsford. “Mental Health Problems and Cancer Risk Factors Among Young Adults.” American Journal of Preventive Medicine 53, no. 3 Suppl 1 (September 1, 2017): S30–39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2017.04.023.

Moriarty, David G., Matthew M. Zack, James B. Holt, Daniel P. Chapman, and Marc A. Safran. “Geographic Patterns of Frequent Mental Distress: U.S. Adults, 1993–2001 and 2003–2006.” American Journal of Preventive Medicine 36, no. 6 (June 1, 2009): 497–505. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2009.01.038.

Robson, Debbie, and Richard Gray. “Serious Mental Illness and Physical Health Problems: A Discussion Paper.” International Journal of Nursing Studies 44, no. 3 (March 1, 2007): 457–66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2006.07.013.

Slabaugh, S. Lane, Mona Shah, Matthew Zack, Laura Happe, Tristan Cordier, Eric Havens, Evan Davidson, Michael Miao, Todd Prewitt, and Haomiao Jia. “Leveraging Health-Related Quality of Life in Population Health Management: The Case for Healthy Days.” Population Health Management 20, no. 1 (March 31, 2016): 13–22. https://doi.org/10.1089/pop.2015.0162.

Wood, Susan F., Avi Dor, Rebekah E. Gee, Alison Harms, Richard Mauery, Sara Rosenbaum, and Ellen Tan. “Women’s Health and Health Care Reform: The Economic Burden of Disease in Women.” The Jacobs Institute of Women’s Health, George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services, June 15, 2009. https://hsrc.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/sphhs_policy_facpubs/271/.

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