Young face sharp rise in mental disorders

Sharp increases in anxiety, depression and other disorders have led to one in four young adults having a common mental health condition, an NHS survey shows, with young women nearly three times more likely to report them than young men.

- Anna Bawden

A study of England's mental health found that, among 16- to 24-year-olds, instances of disorders have risen by more than a third in a decade, from 18.9% in 2014 to 25.8% in 2024.

Results from the adult psychiatric morbidity survey showed reports of common mental health conditions in the previous week - including panic disorder, phobias and obsessive compulsive disorder - occurred almost three times as often in young women, with 36% of female 16- to 24-year-olds reporting a common mental health condition, compared with 13.5% of male counterparts.

Sally McManus, one of the lead researchers on the survey, said the figures reflected global trends disproportionately affecting young people.

"Young people are growing up worried about many aspects of their lives, from insecure employment and housing through to Covid and climate change. Young people may have been one of the groups whose mental health was most affected by Covid." The study found sharp increases in the overall prevalence of mental ill health across age groups:

● More than a fifth (22.6%) of adults aged 16 to 64 have a common mental health condition, from 18.9% in 2014.