Dykxhoorn, Jennifer;
Solmi, Francesca;
Walters, Kate;
Gnani, Shamini;
Lazzarino, Antonio;
Kidger, Judi;
Kirkbride, James B;
(2025)
Common mental disorders in young adults: temporal trends in primary care episodes and self-reported symptoms.
BMJ Mental Health
, 28
(1)
, Article e301457. 10.1136/bmjment-2024-301457.
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Abstract
Background Rates of common mental disorders (CMDs) including anxiety, depression and stress, treated in primary care have increased among young adults, but it is unclear if this reflects more help-seeking and/or an increase in symptoms, and if there are differences across sociodemographic groups. Objective This study examined trends in primary care-recorded CMD and self-reported psychological distress symptoms in young adults over time. Methods We used data from participants born between 1980 and 2003 in two datasets: UK primary care records and longitudinal cohort data. Participants were followed from age 16 to age 39 (maximum) or the end of the follow-up (2019-2020). Annual incidence rates of recorded CMD overall and by sociodemographic group were calculated for 2009-2019, using incidence rate ratios to explore changes. We calculated annual self-reported psychological distress symptoms from cohort data, calculating ratios to explore changes over time. Findings Between 2009 and 2019, recorded CMD increased by 9.90%, while average psychological distress symptoms rose by 19.33%. The sharpest increases for both recorded CMD and average psychological distress symptoms were observed in older adolescents (ages 16-19) and those born after 1995. Recorded CMD increased more in males (20.61%) than in females (7.65%), despite similar symptom increases. Recorded CMD increased the most in the least deprived areas (16.34%) compared with the most deprived areas (3.55%), despite comparable rises in psychological distress symptoms. Conclusions Both recorded CMD and psychological distress symptoms in young adults increased between 2009 and 2019, which may indicate that the rising primary care-recorded CMD reflects increased symptom burden. Implications Differences between recorded CMD and psychological distress symptoms across sociodemographic groups highlight potential misalignment in mental healthcare with underlying population need, indicating that the most affected groups may not be those receiving the most care.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Common mental disorders in young adults: temporal trends in primary care episodes and self-reported symptoms |
| Location: | England |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1136/bmjment-2024-301457 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjment-2024-301457 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. The images or other third-party material in this article are included in the Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
| Keywords: | Science & Technology, Life Sciences & Biomedicine, Psychiatry, Depression, Anxiety disorders, Child & adolescent psychiatry, Adult psychiatry, HEALTH-SERVICES, ANXIETY |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Division of Psychiatry UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health > Primary Care and Population Health UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Division of Psychiatry > Epidemiology and Applied Clinical Research |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10212958 |
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