Amid life’s challenges, most Arizonans (87%) report that the quality of their life and well-being is good to excellent, while 81% report that they enjoy good to excellent health.

At the same time, about 719,000 adult Arizonans (15%) report being diagnosed with one or more of three types of mental disorders (bi-polar, anxiety, major depression), and almost half of Arizonans (49%) report dealing with difficult emotional issues over the past 12 months. For people with health insurance who felt the need to seek professional treatment (14%), only 9% were able to get it. The rate is even lower for people without insurance (6%).

These are just a few of the findings from an extensive report, Adults: Mental Health Issues and Disparities in Arizona, which is based on the data from the 2008 Arizona Health Survey sponsored by SLHI. The report is also available in an Arizona HealthTakes summary report.

The 2010 Arizona Health Survey will be fielded this summer, with results available later in the year.