Study Shows Rising Demand for Mental Health Treatment During Pandem | Healthiest Communities Health News

New research shows the share of U.S. adults who have received recent mental health treatment has increased over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, though stark disparities exist along racial lines.

The percentage of U.S. adults who reported receiving any treatment for their mental health over the past 12 months rose from 19.2% in 2019 to 20.3% in 2020 and then to 21.6% in 2021, according to a report released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics. The figures are based on data from the National Health Interview Survey, with “any mental health treatment” defined as taking mental health medication, receiving counseling or therapy, or both.

In 2021, more than 23% of adults between the ages of 18 and 44 had received mental health treatment in the past 12 months, marking the highest share among age groups in the analysis and a large shift from 2019, when that age group had the lowest share of adults who’d received recent treatment, at 18.5%. Within that age group, 28.6% of women had received treatment in the past 12 months in 2021, compared with 17.8% of men.

Among adults 45 to 64 years old, the share who’d received past-year mental health treatment stayed relatively similar over the three-year period, hitting 21.2% in 2021 compared with 20.5% in 2020 and 20.2% in 2019. The share of adults 65 and older who’d received mental health treatment also stayed fairly flat, hitting 19.4% in 2019 and 18.9% in 2021.

Among those 18 to 44 years old, more than 30% of white individuals had received past-year treatment for mental health issues in 2021, compared with 14.8% among Black adults, 12.8% among Hispanics and 10.8% among Asian adults.

Also within that age group, Asian adults saw the largest increase in treatment receipt among racial or ethnic groups, with an 80% increase from 6% in 2019 to 10.8% in 2021. The share of white adults rose by nearly 28% during that same time frame – from 23.8% to 30.4% – while the share of Hispanic adults went from 11.7% in 2019 to 11.8% in 2020 and 12.8% in 2021.

Among Black adults 18 to 44 years old, the share who’d received recent treatment rose from 12.4% in 2019 to 17% in 2020, before declining to 14.8% in 2021, the study shows.

Though the report does not specifically cite the COVID-19 pandemic as a reason why people received treatment, its findings come amid widespread acknowledgement that the crisis has contributed to worse mental health for many.

A study published last October in journal The Lancet estimated that global cases of major depressive disorder and of anxiety disorder both increased by more than 25% in 2020. A separate analysis from the CDC published in the spring of 2021 showed that the share of U.S. adults with recent symptoms of an anxiety or depressive disorder increased from 36.4% to 41.5% from August 2020 to February 2021, while the percentage who said they did not receive needed mental health counseling or therapy in recent weeks rose from 9.2% to 11.7% over that same time frame.

Survey results published last October by the American Psychological Association also showed that 8 in 10 psychologists who treat anxiety disorders reported seeing an increase in demand for such treatment since the pandemic started, while 7 in 10 who treat depressive disorders reported seeing an increase in demand.

“These numbers highlight what we have been saying since the early days of the pandemic – we are facing a mental health tsunami,” Arthur Evans, the association’s CEO, said in a released statement. “We need to continue to support treatment via telehealth, and we must invest in screening, prevention, and innovative interventions to expand access to various levels of care.”