ACCORDING TO A STUDY led by health services research doctoral student, Catherine Ettman, almost one quarter of U.S. adults are experiencing symptoms of depression. That’s nearly a three-fold increase since before the COVID-19 pandemic began.
The study, the first nationally representative U.S. study to examine the change in depression prevalence before and during the pandemic, found an increase in depression symptoms among all demographic groups. However those starting of with lower incomes, smaller savings, and those severely affected by the pandemic—because of a lost job or the death of a loved one, for example—were, unsurprisingly, found to be more likely to suffer from depressive symptoms.
Researchers expect a rise in mental illness in the weeks and months following a population-level trauma, such as a natural disaster. But the mental health toll of the coronavirus pandemic has been far greater than previous mass traumas.
“We were surprised at the high levels of depression,” Ettman said. “These rates were higher than what we’ve seen in the general population after other large-scale traumas like September 11, Hurricane Katrina, and the Hong Kong unrest.”
The study, conducted with colleagues in the Boston University School of Public Health, compared data from 5,065 respondents to the 2017-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, and 1,441 respondents to the COVID-19 Life Stressors Impact on Mental Health and Well-Being study, which was conducted in the early spring of 2020 when much of the U.S. was under stay-at-home advisories.
