Covid-19 Pandemic – Mental Health Statistics 2021

Covid-19 Pandemic – Mental Health Statistics 2021

The Covid-19 pandemic has spread misery across the globe with an ever-increasing death toll and economic hardship. But the impact is far deeper than this.

The latest data on the mental health impact of the coronavirus pandemic (and accompanying lockdowns and tier restrictions) shows just how serious this is, and how we are likely to be left with a long road back to mental wellbeing.

It is right that we ask ourselves what the impact of lockdown and Covid-19 is on mental health, here are some of the key answers (all statistics are fully footnoted/referenced).

Statistics on:

– Rise in Depression

– Mental Health Inequalities (gender impact of Covid-19 and lockdown)

– Looking for Help

– Relationships

– Resilience and National Mood

Rise in Depression

Rates of depression have almost doubled during the pandemic from around 1 in 10 (July 2019 to March 2020) to one in five (June 2020).[1]

Some sufferers saw improvement in depressive symptoms (1 in 25 adults), but more individuals saw an increase with 1 in 8 adults developing moderate to severe depressive symptoms during the pandemic (with 6.2% continuing to experience existing symptoms).[2]

The most common depressive symptom during the pandemic was stress or anxiety (89% of those experiencing symptoms).[3]

Mental Health Inequalities (gender impact of Covid and lockdown)

The pandemic has exacerbated some existing gender inequalities in mental health. Increases in mental distress were greater for younger age groups (16-24 and 25-34 year olds) than older retired generations (70 and over). Woman were more affected than for men as were those living with young children (as opposed to child-free households).[4]

The pandemic has reinforced (although not widened) other existing health inequalities. During the first English lockdown, higher levels of mental distress were experienced by those living with a pre-existing medical condition, low-income households, those living without a partner and those who were unemployed prior to the pandemic (compared to the average population).[5] 

Those most likely to experience some form of depression were: aged 16-39 years old, female, unable to afford unexpected expense or were disabled.[6]

60% of students report low self-esteem with LGBT+ and disabled students most affected.[7]

Those with disabilities reported greater levels of concern regarding the pandemic. Three out of four (75%) stated that they were ‘very worried’ or ‘somewhat worried’. This compares to two out of three non-disabled people (66%).[8]

Looking for Help

Speaking to others about mental health has become more difficult and less likely during the pandemic. Those who spoke to their GP decreased from 42% in July 2019 to 32% in March 2020.[9]

Citizens Advice Bureau saw a 42% increase in those searching their Employment advice webpages from 685,487 views in February 2020 to 1,053,519 views in March 2020.[10]

Relationships

Of those who were actively dating before Covid-19, 45% gave up entirely and only 1% went on physical, in person dates. In a boom for dating apps,19% stated that they spent more time than usual on dating apps.[11]

Those who experienced depressive symptoms during the pandemic were more likely to say their relationships had also been affected (2 in 5 versus 1 in 5 for those who had non or mild depressive symptoms).[12]

Resilience and National Mood

A massive 36% of individuals felt scared in March 2020 just before the first (English) lockdown was announced. This compares to 12% in June 2019.[13] Despite this, 51% of individuals said that the pandemic had either had ‘not much’ of an impact on their mental health or a positive impact.[14]

Conclusion

As we can see from what we have explored above the effect of Covid-19 is going to be more than physical health and the economy. It is important that we understand how it impacts on those around us. There will undoubtedly be more that we come to understand about the longer-term effects of it in the coming months and years but for now we need to be mindful of the ways in which it has affected people mentally and emotionally as well as those who may be more at risk of its consequences than others.