Facts & Statistics

Did You Know?

• Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting 40 million adults in the United States age 18 and older (18% of U.S. population).
• Anxiety disorders are highly treatable, yet only about one-third of those suffering receive treatment.
• Anxiety disorders cost the U.S. more than $42 billion a year, almost one-third of the country's $148 billion total mental health bill, according to "The Economic Burden of Anxiety Disorders," a study commissioned by ADAA (The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 60(7), July 1999).
  •  More than $22.84 billion of those costs are associated with the repeated use of health care services; people with anxiety disorders seek relief for symptoms that mimic physical illnesses.
• People with an anxiety disorder are three to five times more likely to go to the doctor and six times more likely to be hospitalized for psychiatric disorders than those who do not suffer from anxiety disorders.
• Anxiety disorders develop from a complex set of risk factors, including genetics, brain chemistry, personality, and life events.

Anxiety and Depression [1]

It's not uncommon for someone with an anxiety disorder to also suffer from depression or vice versa. Nearly one-half of those diagnosed with depression are also diagnosed with an anxiety disorder.

Find out more about depression. [1]

Facts: Anxiety and Stress-Related Disorders

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) [2]
GAD affects 6.8 million adults, or 3.1% of the U.S. population.
Women are twice as likely to be affected as men.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) [3]
2.2 million, 1.0%
Equally common among men and women.
The median age of onset is 19, with 25 percent of cases occurring by age 14. One-third of affected adults first experienced symptoms in childhood.

• Hoarding [4] is the compulsive purchasing, acquiring, searching, and saving of items that have little or no value.

Panic Disorder [5]
6 million, 2.7%
Women are twice as likely to be affected as men.
Very high comorbidity rate with major depression.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) [6]
7.7 million, 3.5%
Women are more likely to be affected than men.
Rape is the most likely trigger of PTSD: 65% of men and 45.9% of women who are raped will develop the disorder.
Childhood sexual abuse is a strong predictor of lifetime likelihood for developing PTSD.

Social Anxiety Disorder [7]
15 million, 6.8%
Equally common among men and women, typically beginning around age 13.
According to a 2007 ADAA survey, 36% of people with social anxiety disorder report experiencing symptoms for 10 or more years before seeking help.

Specific Phobias [8]
19 million, 8.7%
Women are twice as likely to be affected as men.

Major Depressive Disorder [1]
The leading cause of disability in the U.S. for ages 15 to 44.3
Affects approximately 14.8 million American adults, or about 6.7 percent of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year.
While major depressive disorder can develop at any age, the median age at onset is 32.5
More prevalent in women than in men.

Dysthymic Disorder [1] (chronic, mild depression)
Symptoms must persist for at least two years in adults (one year in children) to meet criteria for the diagnosis.
Affects approximately 1.5 percent of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year. (about 3.3 million American adults).
The median age of onset is 31.1

Related Illnesses [9]
Many people with an anxiety disorder also have a co-occurring disorder or physical illness, which can make their symptoms worse and recovery more difficult. It’s essential to be treated for both disorders.

Read on to learn more about the co-occurrence of anxiety and these disorders:

• Bipolar disorder [10]
• Eating disorders [11]
• Headaches [12]
• Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) [13]
• Sleep disorders [14]
• Substance abuse [15]
• Adult ADHD (attention deficit/hyperactive disorder) [16]
• BDD (body dysmorphic disorder) [17]
• Chronic pain [18]
• Fibromyalgia [19]
• Stress [20]

Children [21]
Anxiety disorders affect one in eight children. Research shows that untreated children with anxiety disorders are at higher risk to perform poorly in school, miss out on important social experiences, and engage in substance abuse.

• See statistics for anxiety disorders among children [22] from the National Institute of Mental Health.

Anxiety disorders also often co-occur with other disorders such as depression, eating disorders, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

• Childhood anxiety disorders [23]
• Anxiety and depression [24]
• Treatment [25]
• Tips for parents and caregivers [26]
• Anxiety disorders at school [27]
• School refusal [28]

Older Adults [29]
Anxiety is as common among older adults as among the young. Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) [30] is the most common anxiety disorder among older adults, though anxiety disorders in this population are frequently associated with traumatic events such as a fall or acute illness. Read the best way to treat anxiety disorders [31] in older adults.

Treatment Options [32]
Anxiety disorders are treatable, and the vast majority of people with an anxiety disorder can be helped with professional care. Several standard approaches have proved effective:

• Therapy [33]
• Medication [34]
• Complementary and alternative treatment [35]