The prevalence of depressive symptoms in US adults was more than 3-fold higher in the spring during the COVID-19 pandemic compared with before the pandemic, according to a study published online in JAMA Network Open.
“Depression in the general population after prior large scale traumatic events has been observed to, at most, double,” said study senior author Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, dean and professor at the Boston University School of Public Health, Massachusetts, referencing examples such as the September 11, 2001 attacks and the Ebola outbreak.
“We were surprised to see these results at first,” she added, “but other studies since conducted suggest similar-scale mental health.