(Reuters) – More young adults in the United States reported feeling anxious or depressed during the past six months of the COVID-19 pandemic, and fewer people reported getting the help they needed, a study by the US government released Friday.
The percentage of adults under the age of 30 with recent symptoms of an anxiety or major depressive disorder rose significantly about five months after the US imposed COVID-19-related lockdowns and reported an increasing number of deaths from the rapidly spreading virus.
Between August 2020 and February 2021, this number increased from 36.4% to 41.5%, as did the percentage of such people who reported needing mental health care but not receiving it.
The study suggests that the increase in reported symptoms of anxiety or major depressive disorder is consistent with the weekly number of reported COVID-19 cases.
The findings are based on a Household Pulse Survey conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Census Bureau to track changes in mental health and access to care during the pandemic.
“Mental health trends can be used to evaluate the impact of strategies addressing adult mental health status and care during the pandemic,” the study authors wrote in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report released Friday. released.
The study also found that those with less than a high school education were more at risk, although it offered no explanation.
Even with more vaccines getting available from the end of 2020, the mental health effects of the pandemic continued into 2021.
From January 20, 2021, through February 1, 2021, about two in five adults over the age of 18 experienced recent symptoms of an anxiety disorder or major depressive disorder, the survey found.
Demand for mental health and meditation apps, and investment in tech startups building these apps, have also increased during this time.
Reporting by Vishwadha Chander in Bengaluru; Adaptation by Caroline Humer and Shailesh Kuber