title: The economic burden of mental illness.
abstract: Mental illness imposes a substantial burden on individuals and society. Using data from national surveys and a newly developed methodology for calculating costs, the authors estimate that in 1985 the total economic costs of mental illness were $103.7 billion. Of this total, direct treatment and support costs were $42.5 billion, or 11.5 percent of total personal health care spending for all illnesses. Morbidity costs--the value of reduced or lost productivity--amounted to $47.4 billion. Mortality costs--the lost value of productivity due to premature death resulting from mental illness--were estimated to be $9.3 billion, or 5.1 percent of total productivity losses for all deaths. Other related costs, including the cost of caregiver services, amounted to $4.5 billion.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco 94143.
authors.forename: D P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Rice
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kelman
authors.forename: L S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Miller
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004180:Direct Service Costs; D005260:Female; D005102:Health Expenditures; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000191:economics; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000191:economics* / Q000401:mortality / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D008875:Middle Aged; D012737:Sex Factors; D015996:Survival Rate; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D026712:Value of Life