Age Disparities in Prevalence of Anxiety and Depression Among US Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic

IMPORTANCE: High levels of anxiety and depression were documented shortly after the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic and were more prevalent in younger adults than in older adults. Knowing whether these age disparities persisted throughout multiple years of the COVID-19 pandemic and identifying asso...

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Autores principales: Collier Villaume, Sarah, Chen, Shanting, Adam, Emma K.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: American Medical Association 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10690464/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38032641
http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.45073
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author Collier Villaume, Sarah
Chen, Shanting
Adam, Emma K.
author_facet Collier Villaume, Sarah
Chen, Shanting
Adam, Emma K.
author_sort Collier Villaume, Sarah
collection PubMed
description IMPORTANCE: High levels of anxiety and depression were documented shortly after the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic and were more prevalent in younger adults than in older adults. Knowing whether these age disparities persisted throughout multiple years of the COVID-19 pandemic and identifying associated factors will help guide health policy. OBJECTIVE: To investigate age disparities in anxiety and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This cross-sectional study consisted of a nationally representative online survey administered between April 2020 and August 2022 and included US adults who were not incarcerated. Data were analyzed between March and September 2022. EXPOSURES: The first 27 months of the COVID-19 pandemic included wide variation in infection rates, turbulence in US political and social life, and geopolitical instability. Primary exposures include individuals’ age and economic precarity and pandemic-related events (eg, weekly state-level case counts and individual vaccination status). MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Symptoms of anxiety and depression were assessed via responses to 2-item screeners (Generalized Anxiety Disorder 2-item for anxiety and Patient Health Questionnaire-2 for depression). An individual’s symptoms were identified as clinically elevated if scores exceeded validated thresholds. RESULTS: This study included 3 028 923 respondents (mean [SD] age, 48.9 [17.0] years; 1 567 603 [51.8%] female). In multiple regression analyses that include state fixed effects and survey-week fixed effects, likely anxiety and depressive disorders among 291 382 (40%) and 238 505 (33%) of adults aged 18 to 39 years, respectively, compared with 357 820 (31%) and 274 534 (24%) of adults aged 40 to 59 years and 225 295 (20%) and 183 695 (16%) adults aged 60 years and older. Levels declined throughout the pandemic period for those aged 40 years and older but remained elevated for younger adults. Analyses identified several associated factors of these age disparities. Younger adults’ anxiety and depression increased more than older adults’ after surges in COVID-19 case counts but decreased less following vaccination against the virus. Additionally, approximately one third of the age gap among individuals with depression and anxiety was attributed to economic precarity, to which younger adults are disproportionately exposed. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this cross-sectional study of anxiety and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic, economic precarity was associated with high anxiety and depression among younger adults in the US compared with older adults in the US. These findings suggest a need for greater mental health care and economic policies targeted toward younger adults.
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spelling pubmed-106904642023-12-02 Age Disparities in Prevalence of Anxiety and Depression Among US Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic Collier Villaume, Sarah Chen, Shanting Adam, Emma K. JAMA Netw Open Original Investigation IMPORTANCE: High levels of anxiety and depression were documented shortly after the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic and were more prevalent in younger adults than in older adults. Knowing whether these age disparities persisted throughout multiple years of the COVID-19 pandemic and identifying associated factors will help guide health policy. OBJECTIVE: To investigate age disparities in anxiety and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This cross-sectional study consisted of a nationally representative online survey administered between April 2020 and August 2022 and included US adults who were not incarcerated. Data were analyzed between March and September 2022. EXPOSURES: The first 27 months of the COVID-19 pandemic included wide variation in infection rates, turbulence in US political and social life, and geopolitical instability. Primary exposures include individuals’ age and economic precarity and pandemic-related events (eg, weekly state-level case counts and individual vaccination status). MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Symptoms of anxiety and depression were assessed via responses to 2-item screeners (Generalized Anxiety Disorder 2-item for anxiety and Patient Health Questionnaire-2 for depression). An individual’s symptoms were identified as clinically elevated if scores exceeded validated thresholds. RESULTS: This study included 3 028 923 respondents (mean [SD] age, 48.9 [17.0] years; 1 567 603 [51.8%] female). In multiple regression analyses that include state fixed effects and survey-week fixed effects, likely anxiety and depressive disorders among 291 382 (40%) and 238 505 (33%) of adults aged 18 to 39 years, respectively, compared with 357 820 (31%) and 274 534 (24%) of adults aged 40 to 59 years and 225 295 (20%) and 183 695 (16%) adults aged 60 years and older. Levels declined throughout the pandemic period for those aged 40 years and older but remained elevated for younger adults. Analyses identified several associated factors of these age disparities. Younger adults’ anxiety and depression increased more than older adults’ after surges in COVID-19 case counts but decreased less following vaccination against the virus. Additionally, approximately one third of the age gap among individuals with depression and anxiety was attributed to economic precarity, to which younger adults are disproportionately exposed. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this cross-sectional study of anxiety and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic, economic precarity was associated with high anxiety and depression among younger adults in the US compared with older adults in the US. These findings suggest a need for greater mental health care and economic policies targeted toward younger adults. American Medical Association 2023-11-30 /pmc/articles/PMC10690464/ /pubmed/38032641 http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.45073 Text en Copyright 2023 Collier Villaume S et al. JAMA Network Open. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the CC-BY License.
spellingShingle Original Investigation
Collier Villaume, Sarah
Chen, Shanting
Adam, Emma K.
Age Disparities in Prevalence of Anxiety and Depression Among US Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic
title Age Disparities in Prevalence of Anxiety and Depression Among US Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic
title_full Age Disparities in Prevalence of Anxiety and Depression Among US Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic
title_fullStr Age Disparities in Prevalence of Anxiety and Depression Among US Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic
title_full_unstemmed Age Disparities in Prevalence of Anxiety and Depression Among US Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic
title_short Age Disparities in Prevalence of Anxiety and Depression Among US Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic
title_sort age disparities in prevalence of anxiety and depression among us adults during the covid-19 pandemic
topic Original Investigation
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10690464/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38032641
http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.45073
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