July 15, 2010

Mental Health & Substance Abuse-Related Emergency Department Visits among Adults, 2007

12.0 million emergency department (ED) visits involved a diagnosis related to a mental health and/or substance abuse condition (MHSA), accounting for 12.5 percent of all ED visits in the U.S., or one out of every eight ED visits. Visits related to mental health conditions accounted for 63.7 percent of all MHSA- related ED visits. Substance abuse conditions accounted for 24.4 percent of all MHSA-related ED visits, and co-occurring MHSA conditions accounted for 11.9 percent. ED visits billed as uninsured were two to four times less likely to result in hospital admission, depending on the type of MHSA condition. Mood disorder was the most common MHSA reason for an ED visit (42.7 percent), followed by anxiety disorders (26.1 percent), and alcohol-related conditions (22.9 percent). The remaining common conditions included drug-related conditions, schizophrenia and other psychoses, and intentional self- harm.