FABIAN SOMMER / DPA / PHOTONON STOP
The health crisis caused by the Covid-19 epidemic, which has been going on for three years, has had a major impact on the mental health of the population. The increase in the number of people suffering from depressive disorders has been “unprecedented” since 2017, according to the latest Weekly Epidemiological Bulletin (BEH) published by Public Health France (SPF) on Tuesday February 14.
Global, 13.3% of people aged 18 to 75 experienced a depressive episode in 2021, a 36% increase compared to 2017. The increase is greatest among young adults (18-24 years), with 20.8 % of this age group will be affected in 2021, compared to 11.7% four years earlier, an increase of almost 80%; young women are more affected (26.5%) than young men (15.2%).
These figures come from the Barometer of Public Health France, which interviewed 24,514 people aged 18 to 85 by telephone and online, according to a sample survey conducted regularly the state of mental health of the population since 2005.
The health department uses to measure depression as a measurement tool, a short version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview Questionnaire developed by the World Health Organization, which is used to define the major depressive episode. This corresponds to the presence of an episode of sadness or loss of interest for at least two consecutive weeks and at least three so-called “secondary” symptoms (fatigue, weight loss or gain, difficulty sleeping, concentration, thoughts of death, etc.), affecting daily life. These episodes are classified as mild, moderate, or severe. “We expected this increase, but not at such a high level, especially among young people “, notes Christophe Léon, in charge of investigations in the mental health department of SPF and also one of the authors.
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This high prevalence in the 18- to 24-year-old age group, a key phase, “is partly related to life situations – professional, family and financial situation – which have undoubtedly become more precarious in the context of the health crisis,” emphasize the BEH authors.
“The social isolation caused by the restrictions, the uncertainties about studies and the future, the precarity highlighted during the pandemic and probably the very frightening current context – climate crisis, war, economic situation – have put a heavy strain on the youngest,” decodes Enguerrand du Roscoät , Head of Mental Health at SPF, co-author of the study. A history of mental disorders is also a risk factor.
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