Metro Denver Mental Health and Substance Abuse Profile

Adults living with serious mental illness in the seven-county Metro Denver region
The U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) estimates that 5.4% of adults are living with a serious mental illness*:

In the seven counties of Metro Denver, with an overall population of 2,745,804, this is 111,946 adults.

* DEFINITION: Adults with a serious mental illness (SMI) are defined by SAMHSA as “persons age 18 and over, who currently or at any time during the past year, have had a diagnosable mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder of sufficient duration to meet diagnostic criteria specified within the DSM-IV, resulting in functional impairment which substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities” Such life activities can include: basic daily living skills (e.g., eating, maintaining personal hygiene); instrumental living skills (e.g., managing money, negotiating transportation, taking medication as prescribed); functioning in social, family, and vocational or educational contexts.

Children living with a serious emotional disturbance in the seven-county Metro Denver region
The U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) estimates between 7 and 11% of children are living with a serious emotional disturbance*.

In the seven-county Denver Metro area, with an overall population of 2,745,804, this is between 47,091 and 73,999 children.

* DEFINITION: Children with a serious emotional disturbance (SED) are defined as persons from birth up to age 18, who currently or at any time during the past year, have had a diagnosable mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder of sufficient duration to meet diagnostic criteria specified within the [DSM-IV], that resulted in functional impairment which substantially interferes with or limits the child’s role or functioning in family, school, or community activities. Such roles or functioning include achieving or maintaining developmentally appropriate social, behavioral, cognitive, communicative, or adaptive skills.

Prevalence of specific disorders in the seven-county Metro Denver region
The National Institute of Mental Health sponsored large-scale research by scientists at Harvard, called the National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R). The NCS-R enabled the scientists to estimate the prevalence of certain mental disorders in a nationally-representative sample. (“Prevalence” means the probability of the occurrence of illness among a group of people.)

The results of the research, first published in 2005, tell the rates of prevalence for many mental health and substance use disorders in the U. S. population.

Applying those rates to Metro Denver, we can predict that in a twelve-month period:

• 395,957 Denver Metro residents will experience an anxiety disorder, including post-traumatic stress disorder (74,630 people) and panic disorder (55,973 people.)
• 140,969 Denver Metro residents will experience a major depressive disorder, and 58,046 Denver Metro residents will experience a bipolar disorder.
• 64,265 Denver Metro residents will experience an alcohol abuse disorder and 29,023 Denver Metro residents will experience a drug abuse disorder involving other drugs than alcohol.
• 228,038 Denver Metro residents will be dependent on cigarettes or other tobacco products.

Suicide in the seven-county Metro Denver region
The U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) conducts the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. As part of that research, the SAMHSA scientists determine the prevalence of suicide thoughts and attempts in the U.S. population.

In the 2008 survey (the most recent) SAMHSA determined that during the previous year, 8,300,000 American adults had serious thoughts of suicide; 2,300,000 made a suicide plan; and 1,100,000 adults made a suicide attempt.

Applying those same rates to the current population size of Metro Denver, it is likely that during the past 12 months:

• 76,704 Denver Metro residents had serious thoughts of suicide
• 20,731 Denver Metro residents made suicide plans
• 10,365 Denver Metro residents attempted suicide

Suicide deaths
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, monitors completed suicides for every county in the United States. Here are the CDC/NCHS numbers for Metro Denver, for the years 1999 through 2006:

Data Sources
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. (2009). Compressed Mortality File, 1999-2006. Retrieved from CDC WONDER On-line Database, compiled from Compressed Mortality File 1999-2006, Series 20 No. 2L, 2009, at http://wonder.cdc.gov/cmf-icd10.html.

Kessler, R.C., Berglund, P.A., Demler, O., Jin, R., Merikangas, K.R., Walters, E.E. (2005). Lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset distributions of DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R). Archives of General Psychiatry, 62(6), 593-602. Retrieved from http://www.hcp.med.harvard.edu/ncs/ftpdir/table_ncsr_LTprevgenderxage.pdf

Kessler, R.C., Chiu, W.T., Demler, O., Merikangas, K. R., Walters, E.E. (2005). Prevalence, severity, and comorbidity of twelve-month DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R). Archives of General Psychiatry, 62(6), 617-627. Retrieved from http://www.hcp.med.harvard.edu/ncs/ftpdir/table_ncsr_12monthprevgenderxage.pdf

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Office of Applied Studies. (2008). National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). Retrieved from http://oas.samhsa.gov/states.cfm.

U.S. Census Bureau. Population Division. 2006-2008 American Community Survey, July 2010. Table 1. Annual Estimates of the Resident Population by Sex and Five-Year Age Groups for the United States: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2009.

U.S. Census Bureau. Population Division. 2006-2008 American Community Survey, July 2010. Table 1. Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for the United States, Regions, States, and Puerto Rico: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2009 (NST-EST2009-01)