About 50 per cent college-age Americans have suffered from mental health problems in the past year, but a few seek treatment, a survey has reported. The survey of more than 5,000 US adults, ranging from 19 to 25, found that mental health disorders were common among college students and those not in colleges. But a few of them were ready to get treatment. Overall, 25 per cent sought treatment for their mental health disorders in the previous year.
“These findings underscore the importance of treatment and prevention among college-age youth,” the researchers reported in the Archives of General Psychiatry. Early treatment of disorders like depression, anxiety and drug and alcohol dependence can cut the risk that the problem will persist past young adulthood, noted the researchers led by Dr Carlos Blanco of the New York State Psychiatric Institute at Columbia University.
The researchers based their findings on a large government health survey conducted in 2001-2002. The participants answered standard questions used to diagnose substance abuse and other mental health disorders, including depression and anxiety. Focusing on the 5,092 respondents between the ages of 19 and 25, Blanco’s team found that roughly 46 percent of college students and 48 percent of non-collegians had suffered from a mental health disorder in the past year.
Alcohol abuse was slightly more common among college students while their non-student peers were at greater risk of drug abuse. The prevalence of anxiety and mood disorders which included depression and bipolar disorders was similar in each group. Nearly 12 percent of non-students had a mood disorder as did almost 11 percent of students. The rate of anxiety disorders was also around 12 percent in each group.
Treatment rates were low in both the groups, but half of the college students were likely to have sought help for their alcohol or drug problem. This indicates a need for better awareness and treatment, according to Blanco and his colleagues. “As these young people represent our nation’s future, an urgent action is needed to increase detection and treatment of psychiatric disorders among college students and their non-college- attending peers,” they wrote.
