A new study has revealed an increase in mental health disorders among youth in Southern California, highlighting the long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on this vulnerable population.
For years, children, teenagers and young adults in the region had already been dealing with an increase in cases of depression and anxiety. However, the study, based on records from 1.7 million patients in the Kaiser Permanente health system, shows that the pandemic significantly exacerbated this trend, with a 60% increase in the prevalence of depression and a 35% increase in in anxiety between 2017 and 2021.
The analysis, published in JAMA Network Open, sheds light on a crisis that uniformly affects all demographic groups, regardless of age, gender, race or socioeconomic status.
The authors of the study, led by child and adolescent psychiatrist Dr. Siddhartha Kumar, highlight that the impact of the pandemic on mental health has been as profound as its physical effects. “COVID was initially considered an infectious disease crisis, but the side effects on mental health are long-lasting and affected society in a very significant way,” Kumar said.
The study also highlights that The annual rate of depression and anxiety diagnoses increased more sharply during the pandemic years, compared to the previous three years.
The data shows that 1.35% of patients were diagnosed with depression in 2017, a figure that increased steadily to reach 2.1% in 2021. Similarly, the prevalence of anxiety in young patients without depression rose from 1.77% in 2017 to 2.32% in 2021.
Increased depression and anxiety
This increase in depression and anxiety in young people has been a phenomenon observed worldwide. In 2021, US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued a public health advisory about the mental health crisis among young people.
He pointed out that one in four adolescents between 4 and 17 years old had experienced symptoms of depression during the pandemic, and one in five had symptoms of anxiety. These percentages represent double pre-pandemic levels, underscoring the seriousness of the problem.
Dr. Kumar and his team focused on health plan members who were between the ages of 5 and 22 at some point between 2017 and 2021, a group that reflected the ethnic and socioeconomic diversity of Southern California.
Throughout this period, it was observed that adolescents between 14 and 17 years old, as well as young adults between 18 and 22 years old, were the most likely to be diagnosed with depression.
One of the conclusions of the study is the fact that the pandemic has intensified a pre-existing trend. Depression and anxiety diagnosis rates were already on the rise before the arrival of COVID-19, but The effects of confinement, social distancing and stress related to the pandemic have aggravated the situation.
The researchers noted that adolescents and young adults, whose lives were interrupted at a crucial time for the development of their identity and emotional well-being, were particularly affected.
The research highlights the need to address young people’s mental health, not only from a clinical perspective, but also from a holistic approach that focuses on your overall well-being.
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