Mental Health

Jump to another page... Introduction Chronic depression Leisure time physical activity Percent of individuals sought help for mental health Binge drinking Chronic Drinking (60+ drinks/month average) Average days with poor mental health Routine annual checkups Affective disorder hospitalization rate Schizophrenia hospitalization rate Age-adjusted mortality for suicide Years of potential life lost (YPLL) due to suicide

Schizophrenia hospitalization rate

In 2004, there were 3,620 hospitalizations in Bexar County for schizophrenia, this produces a rate of 23 hospitalizations per 10,000 residents. Again the East sector has a notably higher rate of 41 per 10,000, for schizophrenia hospitalizations than the rest of the county. At this time there is no explanation for this large disparity. The South has the next highest rate at 21per 10,000, this rate is half the rate of the East sector. The other sectors range from 14 to 17 schizophrenia hospitalizations for 10,000 residents each.

Age-adjusted mortality for suicide

Suicide is a sentinel event. Suicide is preventable and should never happen. “More than 90 percent of people who kill themselves have a diagnosable mental disorder, most commonly a depressive disorder or a substance abuse disorder. The highest suicide rates in the U.S. are found in white men over age 85⁴⁸.” A recent national study of people ages 15 to 40 reported on two depression diagnoses by race/ethnicity. It was determined, using a standardize questionnaire, if respondents had “major depression” (at least two week of depressed mood), or “dysthymic disorder” (at least two years of dysthymic mood, [have you] felt depressed or sad almost all the time, even if you felt OK sometimes?). The study indicates that 10.4 percent of Whites, 8.0 percent of Hispanics, and 7.50 percent of African Americans reported the symptoms of major depression. Responses for dysthymic disorder indicate that 5.7 percent of Whites, 7.4 percent of Hispanics and 7.5 percent of African Americans have long-term depression. The study reports that people living below poverty guidelines and those with less than a high school education have higher levels of both types of depression⁴⁹.

Bexar County suicide mortality rates have gradually declined since 1992 despite an increase in 1996, from 11.7 deaths per 100,000 residents to 9.1 per 100,000. Suicide rates in Harris County and Texas have followed a trend similar to that in Bexar County.

In 2004, there were 131 suicide deaths in Bexar County, for a rate of 9.1 suicide deaths per 100,000 county residents. This is lower than the State average of 10.6 per 100,000. The highest age-adjusted death rate in the county was in the Northeast sector with a rate of 12.5 deaths per 100,000 people. This is followed they Northwest sector with a rate of 11.4/100,000. The sectors with the lowest rates are the South and West sectors, with 5.9 and 6.4 suicide deaths per 100,000 respectively.

Years of potential life lost (YPLL) due to suicide

Suicide is an individual event that has dramatic affects on surviving family and friends. It is a sentinel event experienced by those who may be unable to deal with isolation and alienation in the community. Of the 131 Bexar County suicide deaths in 2004, 114 were to people under 65 years of age. Each person who died lost an average of 26 years of life. This number produces a rate 221 years per 100,000 population. Since 1992, the Bexar County rate has followed the state trend of a gradual decline in deaths due to suicide.

The largest number of years of potential life lost in Bexar County sectors was in the Northeast and Northwest sectors with 299 and 276 years of life lost per 100,000 population. This is consistent with the reports that indicate that middle-aged and elderly white males have the highest suicide rates. YPLL suicide rates in the southern sectors are consistent with rates in Texas and Harris County.