Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) Statistics

People with SAD may often feel isolated and trapped by their fear, but they're not alone:

  • Each year SAD affects approximately 15 million American adults, with nearly 7% suffering from the disorder in any given year and approximately 12% afflicted at some point in their lifetime[1][2][3]
  • SAD is one of the most common psychiatric disorders in the U.S., along with major depression, alcohol abuse, and specific phobias[2][3]

SAD can have a substantial impact on employment, income, and career.

In one study of patients with social phobia (diagnosed using the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems 10th Revision criteria):

  • People with social phobia were less likely to have full-time employment (31% vs. 54% of those who were "psychiatrically well")[4]
  • People with social phobia were about one-fourth as likely to have professional positions (1.7% vs. 7.1%)[4]
  • People with social phobia were more than twice as likely to have a lower household income (14.9% vs. 7.2%) compared to people without psychiatric conditions[4]

    No SAD medications have been shown to improve quality of life.

SAD also involves costs to society:

  • Psychiatric treatment of all anxiety disorders (including SAD) costs approximately $13.3 billion a year in the U.S.[5]
  • Excess absenteeism and lost productivity due to all anxiety disorders (including SAD) costs approximately $4.1 billion per year in the U.S.[5]

    No SAD medications have been shown to affect the cost burden of SAD.

 Print this page >

References:

  1. ^ National Institute of Mental Health. The Numbers Count: Mental Disorders in America. Available at: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/the-numbers-count-mental-disorders-in-america.shtml. Accessed January 10, 2008.
  2. ^ Kessler RC, et al. Prevalence, severity, and comorbidity of twelve-month DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R). Archives of General Psychiatry. 2005;62:617-27.
  3. ^ Kessler RC, et al. Lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset distributions of DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Archives of General Psychiatry. 2005;62:593-602.
  4. ^ Patel A, et al. The economic consequences of social phobia. Journal of Affective Disorders. 2002;68:221-33.
  5. ^ Greenberg PE, et al. The economic burden of anxiety disorders in the 1990s. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. 1999;60:427-35.

This website is sponsored by Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Palo Alto, CA.