In the United States, where the number of people infected with the new coronavirus is the highest in the world, when we investigated the effects on mental health, more than 60% of 18 to 24 years old answered that they had symptoms of anxiety or depression, and asked the elderly. In comparison, it was found that the proportion was significantly higher in the younger generation.
According to a paper published on an academic journal site operated by the American Medical Association, a questionnaire survey was conducted on the Internet from 11,953 men and women over the age of 18 in the United States from August to September last year, and 5,186 valid responses were received. 33% said they had symptoms of anxiety or depression.
Since the survey methods are different, it is not possible to make a simple comparison, but according to the US CDC = Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 11% of the respondents answered that they had symptoms from January to June before the spread of the infection. You can see that it is increasing.
By age group, 8.9% of the elderly aged 65 and over answered that they had symptoms, while 63.4% of those aged 18 to 24 were younger than the elderly. The ratio was significantly higher.
In addition, 19.9% of young people answered that they "have wanted to die", which is close to 20%.
According to the research team surveyed, one of the reasons may be that young people have more changes in their lives due to the spread of infection and have lost opportunities for interaction such as switching to online classes at universities.
"It's a warning that more and more people are complaining about their mental illness," said Mark Zeisler of Brigam and Women's Hospital, who was investigating. "The support is increasing, but it's still not enough, and now is the time. You should invest in support. "