Iowa Officials Say 30% Of Prisoners Have Serious Mental Health Issues

Circle Connections: New Products & Services About three in 10 inmates in Iowa's prison system have some form of serious mental illness often linked to substance abuse, state officials said. The problem gets even bigger when the population is expanded to offenders who are under supervised release in Iowa communities. Dr. Harbans Deol said the largest segment, nearly 30 percent, had substance use disorders, followed by inmates suffering from depression and major depressive disorders (18 percent), anxiety and panic disorders (14.7 percent) and personality disorders (10.8 percent). The rankings were similar for male and female offenders, he . . .