Rates are three times as high in young women as in young men and mental ill health up across age groups, study shows
Sharp rises in rates of anxiety, depression and other disorders have led to one in four young people in England having a common mental health condition, an NHS survey shows, with young women nearly three times more likely to report them than young men.
The study found that rates of such conditions in 16- to 24-year-olds 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 that reports of common mental health conditions – a term that also includes panic disorder, phobias and obsessive compulsive disorder – occurred almost three times as often in young women (36%) as young men (13.5%).
Sally McManus, one of the lead researchers on the survey, said the figures reflect many global trends disproportionately affecting young people.
