Depression and anxiety disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic: knowns and unknowns

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on people's mental health. Yet, the global extent of this impact remains largely unknown. By leveraging the best available data from surveys around the world with measurements of anxiety and depression both before and during the pandemic, and analysing these data using the Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) model, the COVID-19 Mental Disorders Collaborators1 provide global insight into the burden of depression and anxiety disorders during the pandemic to date. The authors estimated a significant increase in the prevalence of both major depressive disorder (with an estimated additional 53·2 million [95% uncertainty interval 44·8–62·9] cases worldwide—ie, a 27·6% [25·1–30·3] increase) and anxiety disorders (76·2 million [64·3–90·6] additional cases—ie, a 25·6% [23·2–28·0] increase) since before the pandemic. Increased prevalence was seen for both males and females across the lifespan. These findings are all the more concerning because depressive and anxiety disorders were already leading causes of disability worldwide.2