‘Deeply worrying' rise in mental health conditions in England, figures show
Health leaders said the findings 'paint a deeply worrying but sadly unsurprising picture' amid warnings that the system is 'overwhelmed, underfunded and unequal'.
It is the first time since 2016 that data from the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey, which is carried out by the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen), the University of Leicester, and City St George's, University of London, on behalf of NHS England, has been released.
It found that more than one in five people aged 16 to 74 had reported so-called 'common mental health conditions', which include generalised anxiety disorder, depressive episodes, phobias, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and panic disorder.
Problems were more common in young people, with more than a quarter of those aged 16 to 24 reporting having any of these conditions, up from 17.5% in 2007.
There was a particular rise among people in this age group reporting OCD, which rose from 1.8% in 2014 to 5.7% in 2023/24.
There was also a sharp increase in the number of women aged 16 to 24 reporting these mental health problems.
Some 36.1% said they had any one of the conditions listed, up from 28.2% in 2014 and 22.2% in 2007.
The hike among women was evident across all age groups.
Outside those aged 16 to 24, the biggest rise was among women aged 35 to 44, which increased from 22.3% to 29.1%.
Dr Sarah Hughes, chief executive of mental health charity Mind, said: 'The nation's mental health is deteriorating, and our current system is overwhelmed, underfunded, and unequal to the scale of the challenge.
'After the trauma of the pandemic, the relentless cost-of-living crisis, and persistent racial inequalities, it is no surprise that mental health has suffered, especially for the young.
'But it is unacceptable that services still aren't meeting people's needs.'
Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of Sane, said: 'The most shocking and often overlooked fact is that people with serious mental illness continue to lose 15-20 years of their lives due to underfunded and under-resourced mental health services.
'The majority of people diagnosed with mental ill health either receive no treatment at all or the help they are given is mostly in the community and is patchy and inadequate.
'This report exposes the huge scale of need facing a system that is already in breakdown, particularly involving the services available to young people.'
Elsewhere, there was a rise in the number of people who reported ever having self-harmed, as well as an increase in those who experienced suicidal thoughts or attempted suicide in the 12 months leading up to the survey.
The survey found:
– Some 10.3% of adults reported ever having self-harmed, more than four times the 2.4% reported in the year 2000 and up from 3.8% in 2007 and 6.4% in 2014.
– The proportion of those reporting self-harm was highest among 16 to 25-year-olds (24.6%), with more than one in three (31.7%) women in this age group saying they had self-harmed.
– The number of adults who told the survey they had experienced suicidal thoughts in the previous 12 months increased from 3.8% in 2000 to 6.7% in 2023/24. These thoughts were highest among 25 to 34-year-olds (32.9%).
– The proportion of adults who reported attempting suicide also doubled from 0.5% in 2000 to 1% in the latest survey.
– Elsewhere, the data suggests unemployed people and those in debt were more likely to have a common mental health condition or report non-suicidal self-harm.
– Prevalence of these conditions, as well as suicide attempts, were also common among people living in the most deprived fifth of areas in England.
– However, the survey found the number of 16 to 74-year-olds with common mental health conditions who reported having treatment rose from 39.4% in 2014 to 47.7% in 2023/24.
Dr Hughes added: 'We are seeing some benefits of investment – more people are accessing support, and that's progress.
'However, waiting lists remain long, and care is patchy, and many are left to struggle alone while they wait for support.'
Rebecca Gray, mental health director at the NHS Confederation, said the figures 'paint a deeply worrying but sadly unsurprising picture'.
She warned there is 'still a wide treatment gap between demand and capacity'.
'The increased prevalence of self-harm is also very concerning and indicates the importance of being able to use data across services at a population level to be able to target services earlier, for example at young people who have experience of the care system,' Ms Gray said.
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