60 Scientific American, March 2022EstimatedPrevalence of Anxiety Disorders(per 100,000individuals: data from 204 countries and territories)Information on nonbinary categorieswas not publishedAge 25507515 25501575PrepandemicPandemic6,000 2,000Percent Changein Daily HelplineCalls (data from 19 countries and territories)–44812Weeks from OutbreakJune 2019Sept. 20206,000 3,000Female MaleBillions of CigarettesSold (U.S.) Drug Overdose Deathsper Year (U.S.)398.3(2001)203.7(2020)Alcohol Retail Sales (millions of dollars, U.S.)Beer, wine, and liquor storesRestaurants and bars19,394(2001)Nearly 100,000(2021)
Provisional data for 2020 and12 months ending in May 2021(^40200) –20
2019
2020
2022
2011
2013
2015
2017
8,000 6,000 4,000 2,000
0
Estimated NIH Funding (millions of dollars)
Infectious diseases Applied behavioral and social scienceEmerging infectious diseases Health disparitiesMental health Social determinants of healthBasic behavioral and social science Health services Immunization Vaccine-related CoronavirusesVector-borne diseasesInfluenza Burden of illness
Global Fossil Carbon DioxideEmissions (billion tonnes, Gt)
25.3 Gt(2001)
Projected:36.4 Gt(2021)
Mean Nitrogen DioxideConcentration across 122 U.S.Counties (parts per billion)
20 10 0 6 4
M a r. 11
Apr. 21
Jan. 9, 2020
Daily MeanConcentration of Fine Particulate Matter (micro-grams per cubic meter of air)
Prepandemic
Pandemic
County CharacteristicUrbanLate/no business closuresMean for all 122 countiesEarly business closuresRural
Number of Clinical TrialsHalted* (Citing COVID) and Later Restarted
†^
per Month
600 400 200
0
- Through Dec. 2020†As of Oct. 2021
Jul. 2020
Nov. 2020
Mar. 2021
Jul. 2021
Halted
Restarted
Prevalence of Self-Reported Stress Between Jan. 2020 and Oct. 2020, 1,625 clinical trials cited COVID as a reason for peoplehalting their workOnly 56.4% of those trials had restarted as of Oct. 2021
40%
0%
20%
Psychosocial StressorsStigma or discriminationfor spreading COVIDDeath of loved oneFeeling isolatedWorkplace exposureto COVIDHealth of familyand loved onesGetting ill from COVIDSocial Determinants of HealthHousing instabilityNot enough foodAccess to health servicesLoss of job or income
White (non-Hispanic)Black (non-Hispanic)
Hispanic/Latino
Native American/Alaska Native,
Asian, multiracial,
or another
race/ethnicity
Mar. 2020 Mar. 2020
Mental Health The global prevalence of depressive disorders grew by nearly 28
percent in 2020, and anxiety disorders rose
by almost 26
percent, according to a study in the
Lancet
.
This explosion of cases was linked to pandemic-related factors such as high infection rates and decreased mobility during lockdowns. Source: “Global Prevalence and Burden of Depressive and Anxiety Disorders
in 204 Countries and Territories in 2020 Due to the
COVID-19 Pandemic,”
by^
Damian Santomauro et al., in
Lancet,
Vol. 398; October 8, 2021 (
data
)
One study in Substance Use
Nature
evaluated mental health effects
by tracking calls to helplines in 19 countries. Call volume was up 35
percent compared with prepandemic levels,
with more callers than usual expressing feelings of fear and loneliness. Source: “Mental Health Concerns during the
COVID-19 Pandemic as
Revealed by Helpline Calls,” by Marius Brülhart et al., in
Nature,
Vol. 600;
November 17, 2021 (
data
)
Alcohol Sales
From March to September 2020,retail sales of alcoholic beverages in the U.S. jumped
by 20.4 percent compared with the same period in 2019. This change was accompanied by a decrease in sales atrestaurants and bars, so it is hard to say whether
the pandemic prompted people to consume more alcohol overall. But drinking at home certainly became more prevalent. Source: “The Concerning Increasing Trend of Alcohol Beverage Sales in
the U.S. during the COVID-19 Pandemic,” by João M. Castaldelli-Maia etal.,in Alcohol, Vol. 96; November 2021 (data)Cigarette SalesIn 2020 cigarette sales in theU.S. increased for the first time in nearly 20 years. Source:Federal Trade Commission Cigarette Report for 2020,published October 2021 (data)Drug Overdose DeathsPeople inthe U.S. died from drug overdoses in unprecedented numbers following the onset of the pandemic, according toCDCdata. The period from April 2020 to April 2021represented the first time over 100,000 overdose deaths were reported in a single year. Many of these deaths were attributed to fentanyl, the powerful synthetic opioid that has flooded the illegal drug market following a surge inprescription opioid addiction in recent years.Source: National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (data)COVID caused new types of stressACDCsurvey conducted in April and May of 2020 evaluatedprevalence of depression, suicidal ideation and the initiation of substance abuse, along with specific pandemic-associated stressors and social determinants of health. Rates of these issues varied across racial and ethnic groups. For example, Hispanics reported outsize rates of both housing instability and suicidal ideation. Meanwhile those identifying as Native American/Alaska Native, Asian, multiracial, or another race
or ethnicity not listed separately in the survey reported the highest rates of stigma around viral spread, job or income loss and lack of access to health services.Source: “Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Prevalence of Stress and Worry, Mental Health Conditions, and Increased Substance Use among Adults during the COVID-19 Pandemic—United States, April and May 2020,” by Lela R. McKnight-Eily et al.,
inMorbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Vol. 70; February 5, 2021 (data)Changes in mental health disorders do not capture
the full picture of loss, stress and isolation“The mental health consequences ofCOVID could lead tolong-term losses in well-being, diminished economic
productivity and increasing health-care costs. Unfortunately,the existing U.S. mental health system is sorely lackinga public focus: it engages largely with those whoare already mentally ill and often only thosewho are able to pay for treatment.”
—Psychiatry residents Sofia Noori and IsobelRosenthal, inScientific American,^June 2020