Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, May 27, 1994 TAG: 9405270113
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: ATLANTA LENGTH: Medium
Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were stunned that so many people were ready to admit occasional mental problems.
``There is a general stigma about mental health,'' said Dr. Paul Siegel, a medical epidemiologist in the CDC's behavioral surveillance branch.
``We did not expect such a large number of people to admit to a stranger over the phone that they had a mental health problem.''
For the first time, the CDC last year asked almost 45,000 adults age 18 or older about their physical and mental health and the number of ``good health days'' they had in the previous month.
Thirty-one percent admitted to mental health problems, including stress and depression, at least one day a month, researchers reported Thursday. And 32 percent reported poor physical health at least one day a month.
The survey didn't indicate whether there was any overlap.
The agency also found that Americans reported an average of 25 good health days, determined by subtracting the sum of ``not good'' physical and mental health days from 30.
That confirmed previous research indicating that the average American experiences about 11 years of poor health in a lifetime, said CDC analyst Dave Moriarty.
Moriarty said researchers were surprised at the low number (10.7) of good health days reported by those unable to work. People with disabilities tend to have a lower quality of life, but the CDC expected them to have more than one day of good health in three, he said.
Those who had the highest average number of good health days were people with annual incomes of more than $50,000 (26.4 days), college graduates (26.2) and Asian-Pacific Islanders (26.2).
At the bottom were those age 75 or older (23), those who smoke 20 or more cigarettes daily (22.9), the unemployed (22), those separated from spouses (22), those with less than a high school education (21.9) and the poor (21.1).
The typical person with the highest number of good health days was a man age 50-64 who made more than $50,000 and had at least some college education. The typical person with the lowest number was a man age 35-49 who made less than $10,000 and had a high school education or less.
The CDC hopes to use ``good health days'' as a self-reported measure to identify which groups of people need preventive health care.
``We don't have to wait until people get sick,'' Moriarty said. ``People seem to have insight into their health that doesn't show up in a health exam.''
by CNB