COVID-19 Pandemic: Marked Increases in Depressive Symptoms in the U.S.

Multiple studies have documented psychological distress related to the COVID-19 pandemic but have involved samples from Asian countries or nonrepresentative samplings of individuals in the U.S. In a nationally representative U.S. study, researchers assessed depressive symptoms and associated risk factors in a survey distributed in March and April 2020. There were 1441 participants (38% in the 18–39 age range); a comparison group comprised 5065 people surveyed in 2017–2018.

Depressive symptoms were measured on the Patient Health Questionnaire–9. A greater percentage of the 2020 group had depressive symptoms than the pre-COVID group (27.8% vs. 8.5%). According to standardized cutoffs, worse levels of symptoms were progressively more prevalent …