Cases of anxiety and depression grew 25% due to the covid-19 pandemic

Increased stress and depression due to covid-19 1:22

(CNN) -

The Covid-19 pandemic caused hundreds of millions more people to develop major depressive and anxiety disorders last year, according to a new study published Friday.

The study published in The Lancet is one of the first to determine the full global impact of the pandemic on mental health.

The number of people who reported having severe depressive and anxiety disorders increased by more than a quarter in 2020 and early 2021, in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to the study, there were 76 million more anxiety disorders and 53 million more cases of major depressive disorder.

Countries with the highest number of COVID-19 cases appeared to experience the largest increases in depression and anxiety.

Women and youth were disproportionately represented among those cases, according to the study.

Researchers attribute the rise among the youngest to school closings.

Youth confinement: collateral damage from the 3:37 pandemic

In the case of women, they said childcare and additional domestic responsibilities may have played a role.

Women are also more likely to be subjected to domestic violence, and rates of domestic violence have skyrocketed during the pandemic.

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The characteristics of the study

The researchers created this assessment by designing a model that used data from more than 5,700 studies conducted between January 1, 2020 and January 29, 2021. They argue that their results should be used to push governments to give greater access to data. mental health services.

• Here's what you can do about increased anxiety and depression from the pandemic

"Promoting mental well-being, focusing on the factors that contribute to poor mental health that have been made worse by the pandemic, and improving the treatment of those who develop a mental disorder should be at the center of efforts to improve support services," said study co-author Dr Damian Santomauro of the Queensland Mental Health Research Center in Australia.

"Even before the pandemic, mental health care systems in most countries have historically been underfunded and disorganized in their service delivery. Meeting the added demand for mental health services due to COVID-19 will be challenging. , but it should not be an option not to act, "he warned.

anxiety Covid-19 depression