Research Suggests COVID-19 Tripled the Prevalence of Depression

(Newswire.net — June 6, 2022) Orlando, FL — Depression has long been a lingering health issue that has led many researchers to investigate the brain more. This mental health problem is quite common and it reduces the overall quality of life and health of sufferers. 

A first-of-its-kind study has shown that as of mid-April, 27.8 percent of American adults exhibited depression symptoms. It was compared to the 8.5 percent before the COVID-19 pandemic.

The findings of this interesting research were published in the JAMA Network Open journal. 

This study, which was carried out by the researchers from Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH), has revealed that savings and income played a significant role in the prevalence of depression symptoms during Covid-19. 

“Depression in the general population after prior large-scale traumatic events has been observed to, at most, double,” says study senior author Dr. Sandro Galea, Dean and Robert A. Knox Professor at BUSPH.

The research is the first nationally-representative study in the United States to assess the alterations in depression rates before and during Covid-19. It actually involved the use of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ 9), which is considered the top self-administered depression screening tool.

“We were surprised to see these results at first, but other studies since conducted suggest similar-scale mental health consequences,” Galea adds. 

In carrying out the study, the researchers used data from 5,065 respondents to the 2017-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). It also included 1,441 respondents from the COVID-19 Life Stressors Impact on Mental Health and Well-Being (CLIMB) study.

The researchers highlighted there was an increase in depression symptoms among all demographic groups. They also revealed that those with less than $5,000 in savings were more susceptible to having depression symptoms than someone with more than $5,000 by 50 percent.

Depression is a serious condition that needs treatment. It is also worth noting that it affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide. 

Studies investigating the various aspects of this disease continue to pile up. It has even been found that the use of certain nutrients like B vitamins could work in delivering antidepressant benefits. 

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