A study published in The Lancet on Friday found that the Covid-19 pandemic led to an increase in anxiety and other major depressive disorders around the world especially among women and other young people.
The researchers said that, as the school were closed the young people suffered depression as they had to stay away from their friends. While many women found themselves bearing the brunt of household work and facing an increased risk of domestic violence.
The academics at the University of Queensland, Australia who conducted the study recorded 76 million additional cases of anxiety disorders and 53 million of major depressive disorder as coronavirus spread in 2020.
The co-author of the study Alize Ferrari said, “Sadly, for numerous reasons, women were always more likely to be worse affected by the social and economic consequences of the pandemic.”
“Additional caring and household responsibilities tend to fall on women, and because women are more likely to be victims of domestic violence, which increased at various stages of the pandemic.”
She said, closure of schools and other curbs limited “young people’s ability to learn and interact with their peers.”
This research included 48 studies that were conducted across the world and pulled together their findings in a meta-analysis to calculate the prevalence of mental health disorders in 204 countries and territories in 2020.
The authors of a linked comment piece who weren’t involved in the study said, that made it”the first global sagacity into the burden of depressive and anxiety fevers during the infection.”
It launch there was an estimated 28 increase in cases of major depressive fever, to 246 million cases, up from an estimated 193 million cases had the infection not occurred.
There was a matching 26 increase in estimated cases of anxiety, with an estimated 374 million cases compared to 298 million without the infection.
