Pandemic Year One
Saw a Dramatic Glob-
al Rise
in Anxiety
and Depression
In hindsight, 2020 witnessed
a disproportionate mental health
burden on women and
young people
COVID has posed a threat to body—
and mind—for all people on the
planet—the essence of the
Greek-rooted coupling of πᾶν (pan)
plus δεμος (demos) to form the now
too familiar noun.
Yet there has been no incisive
examination to date of the pandem-
ic’s psychological toll on a global
basis. It is difficult to determine
increases in cases of depression
and anxiety because of a lack of data.
No good numbers exist for many
countries and even whole continents
(Africa and South America).
Despite gaps in the data, a team
largely based at the University of
Queensland in Australia has made
an estimate for 2020. “This study is
the first to quantify the prevalence
and burden of depressive and
anxiety disorders by age, sex, and
location globally,” the researchers
wrote in the Lancet.
The numbers themselves are
devastating. Cases for depressive and
anxiety disorders in 2020 are estimat-
ed to have increased by more than a
quarter—an unusually large surge.If the pandemic had not happened,
the model used by the researchers
estimated there would have been
193 million cases of major depres-
sive disorder worldwide, whereas an
estimated 246 million cases actually
occurred, a 28 percent increase, or
an added 53 million cases. For
anxiety disorders, the number of
cases was anticipated at 298 million,but there may have been an
actual 374 million cases—a 26 per-
cent jump, representing an added
76 million cases.
The figures for both depression
and anxiety usually remain stable
from year to year. Such sharp
upturns cannot be counted as
routine fluctuations; “This is definitely
like a shock to the system from what d3sign/Getty ImagesNEWS