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QuickStats: Emergency Department Visit Rates* Related to Mental Health Disorders,† by Age Group and Sex — National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, United States,§ 2016–2018
Weekly / December 4, 2020 / 69(48);1838
* Visit rates are based on the July 1, 2016–July 1, 2018, estimates of the civilian noninstitutionalized population as developed by the U.S. Census Bureau Population Division; 95% confidence intervals are indicated with error bars.
† Visits related to mental health disorder are defined as all emergency department visits with any listed diagnosis of a mental health disorder, International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification codes F01–F99.
§ Based on a sample of visits to emergency departments in noninstitutional general and short-stay hospitals, exclusive of federal, military, and Veterans Administration hospitals, that are located in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
During 2016–2018, there were 43.9 emergency department visits per 1,000 persons per year with a diagnosis of a mental health disorder. Rates were lowest among children and adolescents aged <18 years (12.8) and highest for adults aged 18–44 years (64.9). Rates declined with age for adults aged 18–44 to ≥65 years (32.2). Overall and for each age group, there were no statistically significant differences by sex.
Source: National Center for Health Statistics. National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, 2016–2018. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/ahcd/ahcd_questionnaires.htm.
Reported by: Loredana Santo, MD, lsanto@cdc.gov, 301-458-4122; Zachary Peters, MPH; Carol DeFrances, PhD.
Suggested citation for this article: QuickStats: Emergency Department Visit Rates Related to Mental Health Disorders, by Age Group and Sex — National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, United States, 2016–2018. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2020;69:1838. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6948a13.
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