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NIMH study finds billions lost in wages from mental problems

by William Atkins
Tuesday, 13 May 2008
Page 2 of 2 Ronald Kessler, the lead author of the study (and a professor of health care policy at Harvard University (Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A.) stated, "The results of this study confirm the belief that mental disorders contribute to enormous losses of human productivity." [Time: “Tallying Mental Illness' Costs”] Review: Toshiba Qosmio X300 gamers laptop “Fly me to the Moon” highlights NASA celebration Solar wind dropping, says ESA Thirty-mile long prime number found: Biggest ever Binge drinking in women leads to greater risk in STDs Kessler also states that “The actual costs are probably higher that what we have estimated.” [Time] One of the major reasons why Kessler believes that $193.2 billion should be a higher figure is because one in four U.S. adults suffer from short-term and less severe forms of mental illness—those that are not classified as a SDI but still clinically diagnosed as a mental disorder. Such disorders could be depression, post traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder, an eating disorder, or other such mental problems. In fact, Kessler states that 60% of these mental illness cases are not reported to physicians nor treated, which adds to lost productivity to U.S. employers. These figures were also not reported in the NIHM study but were considered by the NIMH researchers as a definite loss of productivity to employers and large loss of income to employees. In fact, the study reports that about 50% of people suffering from a mental disorder are actually suffering from two or more mental disorders simultaneously. The NIMH study states that mental disorders are the leading cause of disability in the United States and Canada for people between the ages of 15 and 44 years. However, the report states that only 6.2% of current U.S. health care spending is made for the treatment of mental disorders. The abstract to their paper concludes, “These results add to a growing body of evidence that mental disorders are associated with substantial societal-level impairments that should be taken into consideration when making decisions about the allocation of treatment and research resources.” The researchers with the NIMH study suggest that if more employers included mental health coverage in their health plans, billions of dollars could be saved in the United States annually in lost income for employees and lost productivity for employers. Please enable JavaScript in your browser to post your comment! Tags See All Tags Psychology Research United States William Atkins Get stories like this delivered daily - FREE - subscribe now << First page < 1 2 Next page > Last page - Post your comment >>