Women and Menal Health Fact Sheet



Women and Mental Health June, 2003

Prevalence of Poor Mental Health

• Good mental health is defined as a state of successful performance of mental function, resulting in productive activities, fulfilling relationships with other people, and the ability to adapt to change and cope with adversity.[i]

• In 2001, Kentucky women reported the highest rate of poor mental health days of women in any other state.[ii]

• Thirty percent of women in Kentucky reported three or more poor mental health days in the previous month (2001).

[pic]

Source: CDC, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), 2001.

• Depression affects women twice as often as men.[iii]

• Depression may occur at any age during a woman’s life, triggered by certain events like puberty, pregnancy, perimenopause, trauma, and substance abuse.[iv]

• Depression is the most common reason for non-obstetric hospital stays among women ages 18 to 44.[v]

• Self-reported mental distress varies by race.

[pic]Source: CDC, BRFSS, 2001.

• Self-reported mental distress varies by income, with lower-income adults reporting more frequent mental distress.

[pic]Source: CDC, BRFSS, 2001.

• For women suffering from depression, anxiety disorder is often a co-occurring illness.[vi]

• Roughly 10% of new mothers experience some degree of postpartum depression that may last up to months after delivery.[vii]

Treatment for Mental Illness

• According to the National Health Care Survey, antidepressants are the second most frequently prescribed or provided therapeutic medication among all female ambulatory care visits, second to non-narcotic analgesics (pain medication) and followed by estrogen/progestins.[viii]

• The mention of central nervous system drugs (CNS), including antidepressants and anti-anxiety drugs, increases with age and is higher among white women than black women.

• Anxiety is the most common mental illness in the United States and it is estimated to affect 19 million Americans with only 1/3 of those suffering receiving treatment.[ix]

• Women, more often than men, are hospitalized with depression as one of their diagnoses. In Kentucky for 2002, nearly 55,000 people were hospitalized with either a primary or other diagnosis of depression. Of these, 65% were female and 35% were male.[x]

• Many women in the United States (41%) do not seek treatment for depression due to embarrassment or shame.[xi]

• For women seeking treatment at Kentucky Community Mental Health Centers (see listing below), the majority are treated for mood disorders, including depression.

[pic]Source: Kentucky Department for Mental Health/Mental Retardation Services, 2002.

Web Sites

• KY Department for MH/MR Services



• Mental Health Association of Kentucky



Comprehensive Care Hotlines

ADANTA – (800) 633-5599

(Counties: Adair, Casey, Clinton, Cumberland, Green, McCreary, Pulaski, Russell, Taylor & Wayne)

Bluegrass – (800) 928-8000

(Counties: Anderson, Bourbon, Boyle, Clark, Estill, Fayette, Franklin, Garrard, Harrison, Jessamine, Lincoln, Madison, Mercer, Nicholas, Powell, Scott & Woodford)

Communicare – (800) 641-4673

(Counties: Breckinridge, Grayson, Hardin, LaRue, Marion, Meade, Nelson & Washington)

Comprehend – (877) 852-1523

(Counties: Bracken, Fleming, Lewis, Mason & Robertson)

Cumberland River – (606) 526-9598 (collect)

(Counties: Bell, Clay, Harlan, Jackson, Knox, Laurel, Rockcastle & Whitley)

Four Rivers – (800) 592-3980

(Counties: Ballard, Calloway, Carlisle, Fulton, Graves, Livingston, McCracken, Marshall & Hickman)

KY River Community Care – (800) 262-7491

(Counties: Breathitt, Knott, Lee, Leslie, Letcher, Owsley, Perry & Wolfe)

LifeSkills – (800) 223-8913

(Counties: Allen, Barren, Butler, Edmonson, Hart, Logan, Metcalfe, Monroe, Simpson & Warren)

Mountain Comp. Care – (800) 422-1060

(Counties: Floyd, Johnson, Magoffin, Martin & Pike)

Northkey Community Care – (877) 331-3292

(Counties: Boone, Campbell, Carroll, Gallatin, Grant, Kenton, Owen & Pendleton)

Pathways – (800) 562-8909

(Counties: Bath, Boyd, Carter, Elliott, Greenup, Lawrence, Menifee, Montgomery, Morgan & Rowan)

Pennyroyal – (877) 473-7766

(Counties: Caldwell, Christian, Crittenden, Hopkins, Lyon, Muhlenburg, Todd & Trigg)

River Valley – (800) 433-7291

(Counties: Daviess, Hancock, Henderson, McLean, Ohio, Union & Webster)

Seven Counties – (800) 221-0446

(Counties: Bullitt, Henry, Jefferson, Oldham, Shelby, Spencer & Trimble)

NOTES

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[i] National Institutes for Health, Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General: US DHHS, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Mental Health Services, 2001.

[ii] CDC, BRFSS, 2000

[iii] American Psychological Association, “New Report on Women and Depression: Latest Research Findings and Recommendations,” March 2002. ()

[iv] Ibid.

[v] “Care of Women in U.S. Hospitals, 2000”, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

[vi] National Institute on Mental Health, Publication No. 01-4584. The Numbers Count, Mental Disorders in America, January 2001.

[vii]“Postpartum Depression” Fact Sheet, APA, July 2001.

[viii] Brett, PhD, Kate M., and Catherine W. Burt, Ed.D, Utilization of Ambulatory Medical Care by Women, 1997-98. CDC. National Center for Health Statistics, Series 13, No. 149, July 2001.

[ix] Anxiety Disorders Association of America.

[x] KY Department for Public Health, Health Policy Development Branch, 2002 KY Hospital Inpatient Discharge Data.

[xi] National Mental Health Association, “American Attitudes about Clinical Depression and its Treatment,” (March, 1996).

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Office of Women’s Physical and Mental Health Fact Sheet

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