Depression was on the rise among young people before COVID-19 pandemic, Columbia study finds – Gothamist

The COVID-19 pandemic has sparked widespread concern about the need for mental health services. But depression was already becoming increasingly prevalent in the U.S. in the years leading up to the pandemic, particularly among young people between the ages of 12 and 25, according to a study published Monday in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

By 2020, depression affected nearly one in 10 Americans over the age of 12 but the number was nearly one in five among those between the ages of 12 and 25, the study found. This new research arrives at a time when advocates in New York are already urging city and state officials to invest more in behavioral health services for young people and address a shortage of childrens mental health professionals.

I think weve always conceptualized mental health as a clinically treated problem where the prevalence is low, said the study's lead author Dr. Renee Goodwin, a clinical psychologist and epidemiologist who teaches at Columbia University and CUNY. But more is needed in terms of a public health approach at this point, because its become so common.

The study was based on the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an annual survey run by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The data involved comes from more than 55,000 respondents per year between 2015 and 2020. The survey asked participants about whether they had experienced symptoms of a depressive episode over the past year, such as feeling sad consistently over a two-week period, or not being interested in activities that typically brought joy, Goodwin explained.

From 2015 to 2020, there was a significant gap between the number of participants experiencing depression and those accessing treatment.

In 2020, 9.2% of Americans over 12 had experienced symptoms of depression over the past year, Goodwins study found. That was up from 8.6% in 2019 and 7.3% in 2015.

But the jump primarily took place among young people, with no increase observed among those over 35. In 2019, about 16% of adolescents reported symptoms of depression, up from about 13% in 2015. By 2020 the figure was about 17% for that age group.

An even sharper increase was observed among those aged 18 to 25: The share with depression grew from a little over 10% in 2015 to about 17% in 2020. That year, only about half of the respondents with depression in that age group said they had spoken to a professional about it, a modest improvement from 2015.

The likelihood of getting help was lower for adolescents in that age group only about 40% said they had spoken with a professional.

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Depression was on the rise among young people before COVID-19 pandemic, Columbia study finds - Gothamist