Depression might be turning into a public health crisis: US study

• Rates of depression have increased in severity following the COVID-19 pandemic.
• From 2015 to 2019, there was a significant increase in depression.
• The greatest increase in depression was found in the lower socioeconomic class.

A recent study published in American Journal of Preventive Medicine have shown that the rate and severity of depression has increased. After the COVID-19 pandemic.

Renee D. Goodwin, an associate professor in the department of epidemiology at Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health, said the study’s authors said the results of the pandemic are unclear, but estimates should be used to estimate the impact of the pandemic on mental health. can Professor of Health and Epidemiology at the City University of New York and lead author of the study.

The study analyzed the US population and confirmed that there was a significant increase in depression from 2015 to 2019, which “reflects a public health crisis” even before the pandemic took hold.

“The net effect of these trends suggests an accelerating public health crisis, and that efforts at equity and public service announcements have not achieved equity in the treatment of depression,” said the lead author.

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Data from the 2015-2020 National Survey on Drug Use and Health were studied. The rate of depression was found to be the highest. Age group 18-25 (17%) in 2020. Of all Americans surveyed, 9% had experienced at least one major depression within the past year.

The results showed that the majority of teenagers who experienced depression did not talk to anyone about their symptoms and thus did not receive any treatment.

The greatest increase in depression was found in the lower socioeconomic class, that is, those with the lowest income. Depression was also found more in women than men.

Goodwin said untreated depression in young adults is worrisome because it is a precursor to an increased risk for additional mental health problems in the future.

We urgently need “community-based, public-facing campaigns that promote help-seeking, early intervention, prevention and education about depression,” he said.