Almost half of college-age adults suffer from mental-health disorders, including addictions, but less than one in four are seeking treatment, according to new research out of Columbia University.

The Baltimore Sun reported Dec. 2 that researchers examined responses from individuals ages 19-25 who took part in the 2001-2002 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions and found that alcohol abuse and dependency was the most common mental-health disorder among college students. Nicotine dependence and personality disorders were most common among non-college students.

Students' problems with alcohol abuse are well known, according to Jim Spivack, a psychologist and director of the counseling center at Towson University.  But nearly half of the students who seek help from the center also have anxiety and mood disorders. "Counseling center directors have reported consistently over the last five to 10 years the increase in the complexity and severity of issues college students are bringing to college campuses," he said.

There were similar rates of psychiatric illnesses between those in college and those not enrolled, suggesting that transitioning from adolescence to adulthood may trigger mental illness regardless of whether young adults choose to go to college – commonly thought of as a high-stress environment -- according to the study authors.

Denial and societal stigma regarding mental illness may deter many young people from seeking treatment, according to Harry Brandy, director for the Center for Eating Disorders at Sheppard Pratt. On the other hand, the rise in the number of young people being diagnosed with mental illness may be due to increased awareness of mood and anxiety disorders and the availability of drugs to treat these illnesses.

"This study gives a picture of the magnitude of the problem and the extent to which these disorders go untreated," said lead study author Mark Olfson, a professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center. "It really lays out the challenge of providing services to meet the need, particularly of alcohol-use disorders."

The findings were published in the Dec. 12, 2008 issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.