USA! USA! USA!

We're number one!

In mental illness, that is.

One-quarter of all Americans met the criteria for having a mental illness within the past year, and fully a quarter of those had a "serious" disorder that significantly disrupted their ability to function day-to-day, according to the largest and most-detailed survey of the nation's mental health, published yesterday.

Although parallel studies in 27 other countries are not yet complete, the new numbers suggest that the United States is poised to rank No. 1 for mental illness globally, researchers said.

Cosmic Iguana comments:

The study suggests a number of factors, but I'll wager the biggest are two: lack of health insurance and lack of residential treatment. Visit any American city and see the mentally [ill] wandering the streets homeless. The LA county jail is the nation's largest "mental health" facility even though it offers no treatment besides sedation.

I guess it boils down to this: if you are mentally ill and poor, you are homeless or jailed. If [you're] mentally ill and rich, you get to run the country.