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Condition (MeSH)

Mental Disorders

ClinicalTrials.gov lists 49,171 trials for Mental Disorders or a narrower condition beneath it. VA Office of Research and Development has the most among industry and government lead sponsors, with 573.

MeSH D001523 Mental Disorders F03
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Phase 1 Phase 1 2,833 Phase 1/2 Phase 1/2 741 Phase 2 Phase 2 4,280 Phase 2/3 Phase 2/3 650 Phase 3 Phase 3 2,993 Phase 4 Phase 4 2,926 Not applicable Not applicable 25,902 Observational Observational 8,822 Phase 1 Phase 1 2,833 Phase 1/2 Phase 1/2 741 Phase 2 Phase 2 4,280 Phase 2/3 Phase 2/3 650 Phase 3 Phase 3 2,993 Phase 4 Phase 4 2,926 Not applicable Not applicable 25,902 Observational Observational 8,822

Trials per phase (log scale)

2 more sections with rows

1,726 of the 49,171 trials are tagged with Mental Disorders itself; the rest are tagged with a narrower condition beneath it.

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The PDF carries up to 50 rows of each section, where the page shows the first few, with the sources listed. Enter a work email and confirm it from the message we send, and the report follows by email.

When did Mental Disorders trials start? (37)

Shown in this order: most recent first, 1990 onwards. 2026 is partial: trials registered with a 2026 start date so far, not a full year. 190 trials are registered to start in 2027 or later, and not listed here.

Trials over time, by phase

  • Phase 1
  • Phase 1/2
  • Phase 2
  • Phase 2/3
  • Phase 3
  • Phase 4
  • Not applicable
  • Observational
  • Other (Unknown)

Top of scale: 3,784

1990: 9 trials (Observational 2, Not applicable 1, Phase 4 1, Phase 3 1, Phase 2 4) 1991: 20 trials (Observational 6, Not applicable 3, Phase 3 3, Phase 2 4, Phase 1 4) 1992: 25 trials (Observational 6, Phase 4 2, Phase 3 4, Phase 2 10, Phase 1 3) 1993: 28 trials (Observational 4, Not applicable 3, Phase 3 5, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 13, Phase 1 2) 1994: 44 trials (Observational 8, Not applicable 5, Phase 4 2, Phase 3 2, Phase 2 21, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 4) 1995: 58 trials (Observational 14, Not applicable 10, Phase 4 6, Phase 3 8, Phase 2 19, Phase 1 1) 1996: 70 trials (Observational 13, Not applicable 10, Phase 4 7, Phase 3 7, Phase 2 20, Phase 1 13) 1997: 87 trials (Observational 15, Not applicable 13, Phase 4 11, Phase 3 17, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 21, Phase 1/2 3, Phase 1 5) 1998: 87 trials (Observational 19, Not applicable 24, Phase 4 12, Phase 3 15, Phase 2/3 3, Phase 2 11, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 2) 1999: 113 trials (Observational 30, Not applicable 14, Phase 4 17, Phase 3 18, Phase 2/3 5, Phase 2 22, Phase 1 7) 2000: 161 trials (Observational 29, Not applicable 51, Phase 4 26, Phase 3 26, Phase 2/3 5, Phase 2 19, Phase 1/2 3, Phase 1 2) 2001: 280 trials (Observational 40, Not applicable 56, Phase 4 41, Phase 3 63, Phase 2/3 7, Phase 2 43, Phase 1/2 12, Phase 1 18) 2002: 375 trials (Observational 54, Not applicable 72, Phase 4 59, Phase 3 83, Phase 2/3 12, Phase 2 64, Phase 1/2 11, Phase 1 20) 2003: 544 trials (Observational 70, Not applicable 95, Phase 4 121, Phase 3 126, Phase 2/3 14, Phase 2 79, Phase 1/2 10, Phase 1 29) 2004: 771 trials (Observational 88, Not applicable 147, Phase 4 131, Phase 3 188, Phase 2/3 20, Phase 2 123, Phase 1/2 19, Phase 1 55) 2005: 876 trials (Observational 140, Not applicable 173, Phase 4 158, Phase 3 174, Phase 2/3 24, Phase 2 150, Phase 1/2 12, Phase 1 45) 2006: 993 trials (Observational 125, Not applicable 226, Phase 4 164, Phase 3 178, Phase 2/3 18, Phase 2 169, Phase 1/2 26, Phase 1 87) 2007: 1,087 trials (Observational 191, Not applicable 264, Phase 4 149, Phase 3 130, Phase 2/3 24, Phase 2 173, Phase 1/2 27, Phase 1 129) 2008: 1,228 trials (Observational 176, Not applicable 339, Phase 4 161, Phase 3 157, Phase 2/3 39, Phase 2 194, Phase 1/2 26, Phase 1 136) 2009: 1,247 trials (Observational 220, Not applicable 364, Phase 4 143, Phase 3 136, Phase 2/3 31, Phase 2 195, Phase 1/2 26, Phase 1 132) 2010: 1,301 trials (Observational 228, Not applicable 408, Phase 4 133, Phase 3 150, Phase 2/3 34, Phase 2 165, Phase 1/2 31, Phase 1 152) 2011: 1,324 trials (Observational 241, Not applicable 468, Phase 4 111, Phase 3 148, Phase 2/3 25, Phase 2 168, Phase 1/2 27, Phase 1 136) 2012: 1,396 trials (Observational 246, Not applicable 588, Phase 4 113, Phase 3 95, Phase 2/3 36, Phase 2 174, Phase 1/2 31, Phase 1 113) 2013: 1,367 trials (Observational 237, Not applicable 642, Phase 4 108, Phase 3 104, Phase 2/3 22, Phase 2 136, Phase 1/2 25, Phase 1 93) 2014: 1,574 trials (Observational 265, Not applicable 805, Phase 4 121, Phase 3 77, Phase 2/3 23, Phase 2 139, Phase 1/2 37, Phase 1 107) 2015: 1,734 trials (Observational 310, Not applicable 929, Phase 4 93, Phase 3 79, Phase 2/3 32, Phase 2 149, Phase 1/2 30, Phase 1 112) 2016: 1,938 trials (Observational 329, Not applicable 1,106, Phase 4 105, Phase 3 86, Phase 2/3 24, Phase 2 138, Phase 1/2 32, Phase 1 118) 2017: 2,017 trials (Observational 351, Not applicable 1,167, Phase 4 108, Phase 3 83, Phase 2/3 34, Phase 2 136, Phase 1/2 28, Phase 1 110) 2018: 2,330 trials (Observational 461, Not applicable 1,345, Phase 4 85, Phase 3 92, Phase 2/3 26, Phase 2 171, Phase 1/2 25, Phase 1 125) 2019: 2,546 trials (Observational 514, Not applicable 1,498, Phase 4 105, Phase 3 84, Phase 2/3 23, Phase 2 154, Phase 1/2 44, Phase 1 124) 2020: 2,535 trials (Other 1, Observational 643, Not applicable 1,449, Phase 4 72, Phase 3 73, Phase 2/3 16, Phase 2 148, Phase 1/2 26, Phase 1 107) 2021: 3,202 trials (Observational 609, Not applicable 2,007, Phase 4 86, Phase 3 86, Phase 2/3 35, Phase 2 194, Phase 1/2 43, Phase 1 142) 2022: 3,276 trials (Observational 629, Not applicable 2,105, Phase 4 87, Phase 3 68, Phase 2/3 16, Phase 2 192, Phase 1/2 38, Phase 1 141) 2023: 3,430 trials (Observational 630, Not applicable 2,275, Phase 4 93, Phase 3 79, Phase 2/3 21, Phase 2 169, Phase 1/2 34, Phase 1 129) 2024: 3,784 trials (Observational 680, Not applicable 2,520, Phase 4 89, Phase 3 87, Phase 2/3 25, Phase 2 220, Phase 1/2 30, Phase 1 133) 2025: 3,597 trials (Observational 620, Not applicable 2,412, Phase 4 77, Phase 3 102, Phase 2/3 18, Phase 2 202, Phase 1/2 32, Phase 1 134)

Trials registered with a start date in each year, 1990 onward, stacked by phase (complete years only; the current partial year is in the table's notes). The table below lists the same counts, most recent years first.

Trials started per year
Year Trials started
2026 (partial year) 3,258
2025 3,597
2024 3,784
2023 3,430
2022 3,276
2021 3,202
2020 2,535
2019 2,546
2018 2,330
2017 2,017

Forecast of the full-year count, planned starts included, not rows of this table: about 4,100 trials starting in 2026 and about 3,700 in 2027, the average of the 24 months through September, counted as registered and carried forward, with about 0.7 times the starts already registered for the rest of 2026 added. The rows of this table count trials registered so far with a start date in the year, planned starts included; the forecast looks ahead to the count for the whole year, so it is not the same measure. In backtests on conditions of this size, forecasts made part-way through the year were typically off by about 10 percent and ran about 4 percent high against the count later registered; forecasts made before the year began were off by about 25 percent and ran about 15 percent low against the count later registered, and had about 7 percent more error than repeating last year's count. The part-way figures are from forecasts that used a multiple fitted only on earlier years. A stricter check that trains only on older years did not support adding planned starts for conditions of this size: it ran about 6 percent high against the count later registered. These figures rest on a few years of history (target years from 2018 to 2025, varying by figure), place each condition as it is mapped today rather than as it was then, and score against a count for the newest year that was still being revised. Only condition series were scored.

Prediction, not a registry value: median of 36 months from start to primary completion across 5,023 trials still running at the 2026-10-09 snapshot; registered median of 21 months across 30,225 trials with a primary completion typed Actual. Source: ClinicalTrials.gov / AACT (CTTI), public domain.

What phase are Mental Disorders trials in? (10)

Shown in this order: phase order.

Show the trials by phase as a table
Trials by phase
Phase Trials
Phase 1 2,833
Phase 1/2 741
Phase 2 4,280
Phase 2/3 650
Phase 3 2,993
Phase 4 2,926
Not applicable 25,902
Observational 8,822
Expanded access 23
Unknown 1

How many Mental Disorders trials are recruiting? (12)

Shown in this order: the order a trial moves through, from not yet recruiting to unknown.

Trials by recruitment status
Status Trials
Not yet recruiting 2,566
Recruiting 5,959
Enrolling by invitation 592
Active, not recruiting 1,600
Available 6

Status as registered on ClinicalTrials.gov. Each trial is counted once.

Which lead sponsors run the most Mental Disorders trials? (4)

Shown in this order: most trials first. Lead sponsors the registry classes as industry, NIH, US federal, other government or network. A hospital or university the registry files as government can appear here. Sponsors it classes as academic or other are shown on the full page, because that class cannot separate an institution from a named investigator.

Lead sponsors
Sponsor Trials
VA Office of Research and Development 573
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) 342
Eli Lilly and Company 275
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) 271

Which drugs are being tested for Mental Disorders? (5)

Shown in this order: most trials first. One row per drug, matched to a single molecule under all its names, ranked by number of trials.

Drugs tested
Drug Trials
PMI-150 (intranasal ketamine) 275
Aripiprazole 255
METHYLPHENIDATE 236
DEXMEDETOMIDINE 223
Buprenorphine 155

Interventions as named in the registry (10)

Shown in this order: most trials first.

Interventions as named in the registry
Drug Trials
Treatment As Usual 557
IR Risperidone 305
IR (Immediate-Release) quetiapine fumarate (drug) 265
Escitalopram Pill 223
IM olanzapine 217

These are the names sponsors entered on ClinicalTrials.gov that we have not matched to a single molecule. Some are drugs under a brand or code name; others are procedures, doses or arm labels.

Which serious adverse events do Mental Disorders trials report? (10)

Shown in this order: most subjects affected first. Subjects affected summed across trials, a cross-trial signal, not a rate.

Serious adverse events in this condition's trials
Adverse event Subjects affected Trials
Emergency Visits, post-index 5,380 1
Emergency Visits, pre-index 5,169 1
Hospitalizations, post-index 2,533 1
Hospitalizations, pre-index 2,419 1
Schizophrenia 2,139 202

Which publications cover Mental Disorders? (4,786)

Shown in this order: major-topic papers first, then newest, then most linked to trials.

Sub-conditions in MeSH (18)

MeSH descendants one level down with at least one trial, most trials first.

Not on this page

Not measured: delivery record.

Checked, with nothing recorded for this condition: prevalence and rare-disease identity.

Browse all condition evidence pages