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BETHESDA, Md., Jun 07, 2005 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- More people in the United States are seeking professional help for mental illness but two-in-three get inadequate treatment, a nationwide study says.
The National Institute of Mental Health research concluded one-quarter of U.S. residents suffer a mental disorder -- with three-in-four cases developing by age 24.
Sixty percent of people with a mental disorder got no treatment -- professional or unprofessional -- in the past year, said researchers reporting in the Archives of General Psychiatry.
Seventeen percent sought professional help, up from 13 percent a decade ago.
That may be a sign that drug advertising is working in combination with reduced social stigma about being treated for mental illness, The Washington Post reported.
However, people received effective mental health treatment in just one-third of the cases, Harvard University professor and co-author Philip Wang told The New York Times.
"The study indicates that the U.S. mental healthcare system is not keeping up with the needs of consumers and that improvements are needed," the NIMH said.
Copyright 2005 by United Press International.
