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Current Annual Report. This report presents statistics on patients in hospitals for mental disease and in institutions for mental defectives and epileptics. It is based on the 23d Annual Census of Patients in Mental Institutions, the second such census to be conducted by the National Institute of Mental Health.

As heretofore, the cooperation of the institutions supplying data for this report has been generous. Without such cooperation this census would not be possible.

Previous Censuses. The Bureau of the Census has collected data on persons with mental disease and with mental deficiency since 1840. Through 1890 these inquiries were a part of the Population Schedule, supplemented in 1880 by a special schedule mailed to physicians. In 1904 and in 1910 special censuses of institutionalized patients were conducted.

The first census in essentially its present form was conducted in 1923. It covered all types of mental institutions and emphasized the classification of mental patients by diagnosis.

In 1926, annual enumerations of patients in mental institutions were begun and have continued to the present time. Between 1926 and 1932 the inquiry was confined to State hospitals for mental disease and state institutions for mental defectives and epileptics. In 1931, however, the enumeration covered Veterans Administration, county and city, private and psychopathic hospitals, in addition to state hospitals. Since 1933 the census has covered all types of hospitals and institutions specifically for the mentally ill, and mental defectives and epileptics. In 1939, the collection of data from the psychiatric wards of general hospitals began on an annual basis. Since 1923 these enumerations have been rather similar in the type of information collected, although there has been some variation. For example, in the enumerations conducted for 1923, 1933 and 1939, information on diagnosis was collected, not only for admissions and separations, but also for resident patients.