皇家华人

The research, published in JAMA Network Open, establishes that rising levels of severe distress are being reported in all age groups and population subgroups outside of older adults aged over 65, with young adults aged 18-24 showing the most striking rise. One in five 18 to 24-year-olds were classified as experiencing 鈥渟evere distress鈥� in the most recent survey in December 2022.

Researchers suggest that this provides evidence of a growing mental health crisis in England and underscores an urgent need to address the cause of this and adequately fund mental health services.

Between April 2020 and December 2022, 51,861 adults听provided data to the Smoking and Alcohol Toolkit study on how often in the last 30 days they had experienced various negative feelings, such as worthlessness or hopelessness. Responses were on a 5-point scale, and classified as 鈥渟evere鈥� using established cut-offs.听

When analysing the data, researchers found that the proportion of adults reporting severe distress rose steadily over the course of the study, from 5.7% to 8.3%. The researchers observed a rise in rates of severe distress across all subgroups under the age of 65, but the sharpest rise was seen in 18-24 year olds in the second half of the study鈥檚 period - from 13.6% in December 2021 to 20.2% in December 2022. In contrast, the proportion of adults reporting any distress remained steady at about a third.

Participants from low-income backgrounds also saw sharp rises in reports of severe distress, which researchers suggest could be due to the cost-of-living-crisis. A survey conducted in July 2022 found more than two fifths (42%) of people living in the most deprived areas in England had cut back on food and essentials, compared with 27% of those living in more well-off areas.

Lead author Dr Sarah Jackson (UCL Institute of Epidemiology & Health Care) said: 鈥淭he high burden of mental health problems in England is not necessarily a new concern, but recent events appear to have exacerbated the problem and caused existing inequalities in mental health to deepen. Groups with particularly high rates of distress include young adults, women, non-binary people, people working in routine and manual occupations, and people who smoke. This burden has been made worse by a particularly sharp rise in severe distress since 2021 among 18-24 year olds. Focused action is urgently needed to tackle the causes of poor mental health in the population and provide support to those who need it.鈥�

Dr Leonie Brose, the study鈥檚 senior author from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King鈥檚 College London, said: 鈥淭he last three years have seen an unprecedented series of events that can be seen to be contributing to a worsening in people鈥檚 mental health; a pandemic, a cost-of-living crisis, and a healthcare crisis. Our study shows that England鈥檚 wellbeing is steadily getting worse. The number of people reporting severe distress is growing in all age groups from all economic backgrounds 鈥� only the over 65s appear to be avoiding this.

鈥淲hat鈥檚 required now is a strategy that puts equality, wellbeing and sustainability at the heart of society鈥檚 response.鈥�

Mark Rowland, CEO, Mental Health Foundation and Chair of the Mental Health and Smoking Partnership, said:听鈥淭hese findings illustrate the urgent need to address the mental health consequences of the pandemic. If we don鈥檛 prevent high levels of psychological distress, particularly among young and disadvantaged groups, this will feed through into greater mental and physical ill-health, impacting productivity and requiring more support from already stretched services.

鈥淚t is a false economy not to invest in public mental health approaches that build social capital and support those at risk. We urgently need to turn words about prevention into a dedicated strategy from government that drives greater investment into preventing mental health problems across our population."

This work was supported by Cancer Research UK and the UK Prevention Research Partnership, an initiative funded by UK Research and Innovation Councils, the Department of Health and Social Care (England) and the UK devolved administrations, and leading health research charities.

Links

• UCL Behavioural Science & Health
• UCL Institute of Epidemiology & Health Care
• UCL Population Health Sciences

Image

• Credit: iStock /

Media contact

Mark Greaves

E: m.greaves [at] ucl.ac.uk