(Reuters) – More young adults in the United States have reported anxiety or depression in the past six months of the COVID-19 pandemic, and fewer people have reported receiving the help they need, according to a US government study released Friday.
The percentage of adults under the age of 30 with recent symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorder increased significantly about five months after the US imposed COVID-19-related blockages and reported an increase in deaths from the rapidly spreading virus.
Between August 2020 and February 2021, this number increased to 41.5% from 36.4%, as did the percentage of such people who reported needing but not receiving mental health counseling.
The study suggests that the increase in symptoms of anxiety or reported depressive disorders corresponds to the weekly number of cases reported by COVID-19.
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 monitor changes in mental health and access to care during the pandemic.
“Mental health trends can be used to assess the impact of strategies that address the state and care of adult mental health during the pandemic,” the study’s authors wrote in the CDC’s weekly report on morbidity and mortality, released Friday.
The study also found that those with fewer high school education were more at risk, although it did not provide an explanation for this.
Even with more vaccines being licensed since the end of 2020, the effects of the pandemic on mental health have continued until 2021.
Between January 20, 2021 and February 1, 2021, about two in five adults over the age of 18 had recent symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorder, the study found.
Demand for mental health and meditation applications and investment in technology startups building these applications also increased during this period.
Reporting of Vishwadha Chander in Bengaluru; Edited by Caroline Humer and Shailesh Kuber