National and State Trends in Anxiety and Depression Severity Scores Among Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic — United States, 2020–2021

Details

• Journal Article:
  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• Personal Author:
  Barile, John P. ; Blumberg, Stephen J. ; Guerin, Rebecca J. ; Jia, Haomiao ; McKnight-Eily, Lela ; Njai, Rashid ; Okun, Andrea H. ; Thompson, William W.
• Corporate Authors:
  Joseph L. Mailman School of Public Health. Department of BioStatistics ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Division of Science Integration ; University of Hawaii at Manoa. Department of Psychology ; National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (U.S.). Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention ; National Center for Health Statistics (U.S.). Division of Health Interview Statistics ; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.). Office of Minority Health ; CDC COVID-19 Response Team. Division of Viral Hepatitis
• Description:
  What is already known about this topic? U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey data indicate that the percentage of U.S. adults with symptoms of anxiety and depressive disorders increased nationwide from August 2020 to February 2021.
  
  What is added by this report? Nationwide, average anxiety severity scores increased 13% from August to December 2020 and then decreased 26.8% from December 2020 to June 2021. Similar increases and decreases occurred in depression severity scores.
  
  What are the implications for public health practice? Mental health services and resources, including telehealth behavioral services, are critical during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  
  Recent studies indicate an increase in the percentage of adults who reported clinically relevant symptoms of anxiety and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic (1–3). For example, based on U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey (HPS) data, CDC reported significant increases in symptoms of anxiety and depressive disorders among adults aged ≥18 years during August 19, 2020–February 1, 2021, with the largest increases among adults aged 18–29 years and among those with less than a high school education (1). To assess more recent national Trends, as well as state-specific Trends, CDC used HPS data (4) to assess Trends in reported anxiety and depression among U.S. adults in all 50 states and the District of Columbia (DC) during August 19, 2020–June 7, 2021 (1). Nationally, the average anxiety severity score increased 13% from August 19–31, 2020, to December 9–21, 2020 (average percent change [APC] per survey wave = 1.5%) and then decreased 26.8% from December 9–21, 2020, to May 26–June 7, 2021 (APC = –3.1%). The average depression severity score increased 14.8% from August 19–31, 2020, to December 9–21, 2020 (APC = 1.7%) and then decreased 24.8% from December 9–21, 2020, to May 26–June 7, 2021 (APC = –2.8%). State-specific Trends were generally similar to national Trends, with both anxiety and depression scores for most states peaking during the December 9–21, 2020, or January 6–18, 2021, survey waves. Across the entire study period, the frequency of anxiety and depression symptoms was positively correlated with the average number of daily COVID-19 cases. Mental health services and resources, including telehealth behavioral services, are critical during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  
  Suggested citation for this article: Suggested citation for this article: Jia H, Guerin RJ, Barile JP, et al. National and State Trends in Anxiety and Depression Severity Scores Among Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic — U.S. 2020–2021. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. ePub: 5 October 2021.
  
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• Subjects:
  Adult Anxiety Coronavirus COVID-19 Depression Mental Health Risk Factors Socioeconomic Factors Surveys And Questionnaires
• Source:
  MMWR: Morbidity Mortal Weekly Rep. 2021; v. 70 Early Release
• Series:
  Weekly Report: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• ISSN:
  0149-2195 (print) ; 1545-861X (digital)
• Publisher:
  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (U.S.)
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  United States
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSI - Division of Science Integration
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  6 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Benson, Mikaelyn ; Launt, Deirdre ; Newlove, Meredith ; Rivera, Cesar
• Volume:
  70
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20063661
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:73ecd9874190f4f2ee29d488bc623a46a3688dbc72011f9625c61509594c43e25fb4c321e359092c30e94a833ca56c33d352a285cce1450641f66cc0b4ebd68a
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/110409/cdc_110409_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 430.99 KB ]