Anxiety and depression cases surged by over 25% due to Covid: WHO

WION Web Team

New DelhiUpdated: Mar 02, 2022, 08:34 PM IST

Stress need not viewed as exclusively negative. In fact, it can be a positive experience if we choose to look at it that way, by drawing into our inner reserves and calling forth our qualities of strength, courage and endurance in times of crises. Photograph:(Reuters)

Story highlights

Also, there was a 27.6 per cent increase in cases of major depressive disorder in the year 2020

The World Health Organisation on Wednesday said that cases of anxiety and depression have surged by over 25 per cent globally as Covid has taken a severe toll on the mental health of people. During a scientific brief, the organisation revealed that there was a 25.6 per cent hike in cases of anxiety disorders all across the globe.

Also, there was a 27.6 per cent increase in cases of major depressive disorder in the year 2020.

Brandon Gray of WHO's mental health and substance use department said, "In terms of scale, this is a very large increase." He told AFP that the briefing "shows that Covid-19 has had a large impact on people's mental health and wellbeing."

Also read | Women's mental health deteriorated more in Covid pandemic: Study

A massive surge was seen in places that were heavily affected by Covid, in terms of high daily infection rates. Also, women and girls were more affected than males.

Earlier in October, a report stated that women have been the worst affected population in the pandemic. A Lancet study reported that cases of depression and anxiety have increased by more than a quarter in just the initial year of the coronavirus pandemic.

There have been 374 million cases of anxiety disorders around the world in 2020. Out of these, nearly 76 million were new cases caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

(With inputs from agencies)