Mental Disorders Cost Society Billions in Unearned Income, May 7, 2008 News Release - National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Major mental disorders cost the nation at least $193 billion annually in lost earnings alone, according to a new study funded by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). The study was published in the May 2008 issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry.
"Lost earning potential, costs associated with treating coexisting conditions, Social Security payments, homelessness and incarceration are just some of the indirect costs associated with mental illnesses that have been difficult to quantify," said NIMH Director Thomas R. Insel, M.D. "This study shows us that just one source of these indirect costs is staggeringly high."
that's a lot of money
"The results of this study confirm the belief that mental disorders
contribute to enormous losses of human productivity," said Kessler. "Yet
this estimate is probably conservative because the NCS-R did not
assess people in hospitals or prisons, and included very few participants
with autism, schizophrenia or other chronic illnesses that are
known to greatly affect a person’s ability to work. The actual
costs are probably higher that what we have estimated."
wow that's incredible
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