Salt Lake Telegram | 1938-12-07 | Page 6 | Advice on Your Health

Advice on Your Health 1 I By Morris Fishbein b Edi Editor r Journal OUr American n Medical Association S I In planning the national health program authorities endeavored to estimate how much in the way of facilities would be required forthe for forthe forthe the increase in cases of mental disease Today patients with mental mental mental men men- tal disease occupy 47 per cent of the total available hospital beds in the United States and the annual annual annual an an- nual cost for their care is between between between be be- be- be tween and The number number of people in hospitals hospitals hospitals hos hos- for mental disease increased more than 40 per cent from 1926 to 1936 All sorts of explanations are offered to account for this in in- in crease According to Harold F. F Dorn Dora of the United States public health service the apparent in increase increase increase in- in crease in mental disease is usually credited to the complexity and str strain in of modern life This in increased increased increased in- in creased creased strain is in lit turn associated associated associated with the tendency of more and more people to live in cities where the speed of life is far greater than in rural areas A part of the increase is due to the fact that we now recognize as abnormal conditions which were formerly given little atten atten- tion The development of child guidance clinics and the increase in study of mental problems in recent years is an indication of our changing point of view The only way we have of determining de de- determining de- de the extent of mental disease is by the number of peo- peo pie assigned to hospitals for or care of the mentally defective anc an ana the insane This does not inc ith Ud the vast numbers who are on borderline and who may slum sho only occasional temporary abea aberra- aberra I a The fact that more and mar inor people are living in the cities with less opportunity to take the sick at home means that tha more and more people sent to hospitals Therefore the number of people mental hospitals is not necessarily I an accurate measure of the number rn num- ber her of cases H I Notwithstanding these however mental aberration aberration aberra aberra- T tion is still a serious matter mattern Un the United States It is believed Ji that out of the children ii born in 1936 eventually J will be committed to hospitals hos- hos J hos-J for mental disease J W Even though the incidence of mental disease has not been in increasing increasing in- in in creasing as rapidly as is supposed it is a vast and significant lem Fortunately new discoveries discover discover- ies in the field of mental health and particularly new discoveries s relative to the treatment of ge general gen gen- eral paresis and dementia praecox praecox cox may have an important ef effect effect ef- ef feet on the number of admissions to hospitals for these diseases The heat treatment malaria treatment treatment treat treaty ment meat and other methods used in general paresis and the insulin shock and shock methods used in dementia praecox m Y bring about important deductions in the total number of cases of this character