U.S. Mental Health Emergency Department Visit Rates by Demographic

U.S. emergency department data tracks monthly rates of mental health-related visits per 100,000 visits. The CDC's National Syndromic Surveillance Program aggregates de-identified data from over 6,900 facilities across all 50 states, D.C., and Guam. Data is updated monthly and provides rates for the overall population and specific demographic groups.

Use Cases

• Analyze trends in condition-specific visit rates (e.g., anxiety, depression) over time using the `condition` and `month_end` columns.
• Compare mental health visit rates across demographic groups (e.g., age, sex, race/ethnicity) using the `demographics_type` and `demographics_values` columns.
• Model the relationship between demographic factors and `rate_per_100000_visits` for specific mental health conditions.
• Monitor for anomalous spikes in `rate_per_100000_visits` for specific `condition` and `demographics_type` combinations as an early warning signal.

Strengths

• Covers over 6,900 healthcare facilities across 50 states, D.C., and Guam.
• Represents more than 80% of U.S. emergency department visits.
• Data is updated monthly, providing timely surveillance.

Limitations

• Monthly counts below 10 are suppressed for privacy, creating data gaps for small demographic groups or rare conditions.
• Rates are dynamically adjusted as electronic health records are updated, which may cause minor historical revisions.
• Limited to emergency department settings, excluding other care pathways for mental health.

Provenance

Source

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Syndromic Surveillance Program.

Collection Method

Aggregated from de-identified electronic health record data submitted daily by participating emergency departments.

Time Range

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Freshness

Updated monthly.

Geography

United States (all 50 states, District of Columbia, and Guam).