Measuring The Lifetime Costs of Serious Mental Illness And The Mitigating Effects of Educational Attainment

Serious mental illness (SMI) is a disabling condition that develops early in life and imposes substantial economic burden. There is a growing belief that early intervention for SMI has lifelong benefits for patients. However, assessing the cost-effectiveness of early intervention efforts is hampered by a lack of evidence on the long-term benefits. We addressed this by using a dynamic microsimulation model to estimate the lifetime burden of SMI for those diagnosed by age twenty-five.