Mental disorders account for about one-third of all sick days, roughly equal to those caused by back pain, according to the most comprehensive report yet on the effect of illness on disability.
Adult Americans with depression, anxiety or other psychological disorder annually miss 1.3 billion days of work, school or other daily activity, according to a report being published today in the Archives of General Psychiatry.
Back and neck pain cause sufferers to miss 1.2 billion days.
Mental disorders had a bigger effect than expected, researchers said, yet they often are left unrecognized and untreated.
Taken together, all chronic conditions, including cancer, heart attack, ulcer and vision loss, sideline adults for a total of 3.7 billion days a year, researchers said.
Researchers found that more than half of American adults have chronic health conditions. Some go to work every day, while others are severely impaired and no longer work. The study found that those with chronic conditions take an average of 32 sick days a year.
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