Statistics & Data Analysis: Prevalence Rates of Mental Disorders

Updated October 2004

This file contains several documents to assist counties in planning to provide mental health services to their populations. The file contains prevalence rates of mental disorders by county based on the 2000 Census and updated to 2004, and state and county population trends from 2000 to 2004.

Population Trends

The Population Trends Tables 1 and 2 are from the State Department of Finance (DOF) and show the total population by state and county from 2001 through 2004. The data are based on the 2000 Census. The data are available from the DOF at the following site: http://www.dof.ca.gov/HTML/DEMOGRAP/Hist_E-4.xls

Population Trends Table 1 is the same as that on the DOF website with the addition of the last column that shows the percent change in the population from the 2000 Census to 2004. This percent is used on a county specific basis to update the prevalence. Population Trends Table 2 is the same as the first, but rank ordered based on the percent change in their populations. Notice that there is a wide variation in the population growth in just four years from Sierra, which it is estimated, actually experienced a slight decrease to Placer with an estimated increase of over 17 percent.

• Table 1- Population Trends (Alpha Order) PDF | Excel
• Table 2 -Population Trends (Rank Order) PDF | Excel

State Population Characteristics

The State Department of Finance (DOF) makes annual projections of the state population by county, race/ethnicity, gender, and single years of age. The following tables display that data in Excel pivot table format with the ages grouped into several categories. These data are based on projections made by the DOF based on the 2000 U.S. Census. There will be some differences between these data and estimates made by the DOF which are updated annually with data such as births, deaths, housing starts, etc. More detail about these methodologies and further data can be found on the DOF website at http://www.dof.ca.gov/HTML/DEMOGRAP/Druhpar.htm

• 2004 – pivot table of county, race/ethnicity, gender and age. ( PDF | Excel )
• 2005 – pivot table of county, race/ethnicity, gender and age. ( PDF | Excel )
• 2006 – pivot table of county, race/ethnicity, gender and age. ( PDF | Excel )

U.S. Census Data

The U.S. Census data are available for query at the website titled www.factfinder.census.gov. One can select by specific geographic area and then by several different data sets. Several tables have been extracted by county and the results are available below in Excel formats.

• 2000 – U.S. Census, Language Spoken at Home by County. ( PDF | Excel ) This is based on data collected on a sample of the population and has not been updated to current years.
• 2000 – U.S. Census, Detail on Group Quarters by County. ( Excel ) This is based on data collected on the entire population and includes institutions and group quarters. The data has not been updated to current years. Please note that this is based on the location of the person at the time of the census, not the county that might have placed a person in an institution. There are 59 worksheets within this workbook, one for each county and California. Click on the tab at the bottom of the page to select the county.

Homeless and Housing Information Links

The following links may be helpful in providing data on the number of persons who are homeless and/or prevalence data on persons who are homeless.

The Federal Department Office of Housing and Urban Development http://www.hud.gov

The Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) Data and Technical Standards Web cast Black and White version of the Power Point Presentation
http://www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/homeless/library/webcast101804/presentation.pdf

The Institute for the Study of Homelessness and Poverty at the Weingart Center.
http://www.weingart.org/institute/ August 2004 report with many references. Has data for communities in Los Angeles County, as well as county data for Monterey, Orange and San Bernardino Counties.

Prevalence Resources

In addition to the prevalence data provided by Dr. Charles Holzer, there are other studies which have been conducted in California or other states that are relevant to estimating the prevalence of mental disorders in counties or in specific populations. Following are studies that may be useful to counties or organizations in estimating the prevalence of persons with mental disorders.

• The California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) is a source of information on health status and access to health care services among the citizens of California. The CHIS is a telephone survey of adults, adolescents, and children from all parts of the state and is conducted every two years. It is a collaborative project of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, the California Department of Health Services, and Public Health Institute.
  
  The survey provides statewide information on the overall population, including many racial and ethnic groups, and local-level data for most counties. The data can be queried to address specific populations and health questions. There are several mental health questions that may be helpful in considering overall prevalence. Please note that these are not necessarily the same as the questions used by Dr. Holzer so the results may be different. More information about the CHIS is available at their website http://www.chis.ucla.edu/

Prevalence Data

The prevalence data shows the number of youth who have serious emotional disturbances (SED) and the number of adults who have serious mental illnesses (SMI). The original prevalence rates were develop through a contract with Dr. Charles Holzer, Ph.D., an epidemiologist at the University of Texas, Medical Branch. He has worked at the national and state levels on issues relating to epidemiology of mental illnesses for over 30 years. His methodology uses information from the Epidemiological Catchment Area (ECA) studies, the National Co-Morbidity Study (NCS), and rates of SED for youth published in the Federal Register based on a compilation of prevalence studies for youth ages 9 through 17 years. He applied these rates to all youth. The prevalence rates of SMI and SED were applied to each county based on the demographic characteristics that correlate with differential rates. Further information is available at the following site: http://Charles.Holzer.com

Prevalence Table 1 shows the original data that was provided by Dr. Holzer. The table shows the estimated prevalence, the total population, and the prevalence rate for three population groups: (1) the total population in the state or county; (2) the persons in households: and (3) the persons in households with an income below 200 percent of the poverty level. Since the public mental health system is intended to serve those persons who have low resources, the population below 200 percent of the poverty level can be used for planning purposes as the population that would be likely to use the public mental health system for services, if needed.

There are some limitations in using only the household population since some of the mental health client population is in skilled nursing facilities, residential treatment facilities, or board and care homes that are not considered households. However, the Census data are not available in sufficient detail to identify only those facilities. In addition, the Census data would not identify those persons who are placed out of county. There is a Census report that is available by county showing the total number or persons in “institutional and group quarters” by type of residence. This report can be referenced at the following website http://www.dof.ca.gov/search/demograpquery.htm.

Prevalence Table 2 focuses on the household population below 200 percent of poverty. The first three columns of data are the same as those on the original data showing the population and prevalence based on the 2000 Census. The last three columns are an update to this data reflecting the growth in population to 2004. The population and prevalence numbers in the first two data columns are increased by the growth rate specific to each county. The total prevalence rates stay the same.

There are limitations to this methodology in that some age groups and race/ethnic groups have higher rates of growth than others. However, these growth rates are not available in sufficient detail to apply them to the original data tables.

Prevalence Data and Estimates

Counties	Original Prevalence Data (Table 1)	Prevalence Estimates (Table 2)
Alameda	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
Alpine	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
Amador	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
Butte	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
Calaveras	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
Colusa	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
Contra Costa	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
Del Norte	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
El Dorado	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
Fresno	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
Glenn	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
Humboldt	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
Imperial	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
Inyo	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
Kern	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
Kings	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
Lake	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
Lassen	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
Los Angeles	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
Madera	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
Marin	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
Mariposa	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
Mendocino	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
Merced	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
Modoc	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
Mono	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
Monterey	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
Napa	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
Nevada	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
Orange	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
Placer	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
Plumas	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
Riverside	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
Sacramento	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
San Benito	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
San Bernardino	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
San Diego	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
San Francisco	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
San Joaquin	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
San Luis Obispo	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
San Mateo	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
Santa Barbara	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
Santa Clara	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
Santa Cruz	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
Shasta	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
Sierra	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
Siskiyou	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
Solano	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
Sonoma	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
Stanislaus	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
Sutter	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
Tehama	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
Trinity	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
Tulare	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
Tuolumne	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
Ventura	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
Yolo	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
Yuba	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel
Statewide (CA)	PDF | Excel	PDF | Excel