Sep 4, 2020 - Health Caitlin Owens,
author of Vitals
Adapted from Ettman, et al., 2020, "Prevalence of Depression Symptoms
in US Adults Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic"; Chart:
Andrew Witherspoon/Axios
Americans
are reporting symptoms of depression three times more than they were before the
pandemic, according to a recent study published
in JAMA.
Why it matters: The downstream effects of the coronavirus on our health,
and particularly our mental health, are getting worse.
Between the lines: The same people getting hammered hardest by the actual
coronavirus are also most likely to be at higher risk of depression.
·
Households with lower
incomes, households with less than $5,000 in savings and people with high
exposure to coronavirus stressors were more likely to report depression
symptoms.
·
"As an event that
can cause physical, emotional, and psychological harm, the COVID-19 pandemic
can itself be considered a traumatic event," the authors write. "In
addition, the policies created to prevent its spread introduced new life
stressors and disrupted daily living for most people in the US."
The bottom line: "Post–COVID-19 plans should account for the probable
increase in mental illness to come, particularly among at-risk
populations," the authors conclude.
Our thought bubble: In the short term, the best way to reduce mental health
issues stemming from the pandemic is to reduce the severity of the pandemic,
which means getting the virus under control and, in turn, lessening its
economic disruption.
·
But mental health
issues don't go away overnight, and our health care system was already bad at
addressing them. Suicide and substance abuse have been huge issues in the U.S.
for years.
·
If we're actually
going to address these trauma-related mental health issues, that probably
requires a serious policy effort, as the people most affected are the people
least likely to have access to mental health care under today's system.
No comments:
Post a Comment