According to the most recent Wellcome Global Monitor research, almost four in ten persons globally report depression and anxiety have had an impact on their life to some extent. In 2020, over one-fifth of persons (19%) said they had felt so nervous or depressed that they couldn’t go on with their usual daily activities for two weeks or more, and another 19% said this had occurred to a family member or close friend.
In several parts of the globe, such as Latin America, Australia/New Zealand, Western Europe, and Northern America, the majority of persons aged 15 and above indicated they had experienced or knew someone who had encountered these circumstances.
These findings come from the most recent Wellcome Global Monitor, the largest-ever examination of public attitudes toward science and health.
The Wellcome Global Monitor’s first administration, conducted in 2018, examined themes including as people’s faith in science, scientists, and health information, as well as their trust in vaccinations. The 2020 Wellcome Global Monitor focuses on an equally important topic: people’s experiences with mental health concerns (particularly, anxiety or depression) and their perceptions of the role of science in mental health.
According to the research, men and women are about equally likely to claim they have felt so nervous or depressed that they have been unable to continue their usual daily activities for two weeks or more.
The risk of having anxiety or depression decreases somewhat with age: 21% of those aged 15 to 24 globally reported feeling this way, compared to 20% of those aged 25 to 34, 20% of those aged 35 to 49, 17% of those aged 50 to 64, and 14% of those aged 65 or over. Importantly, the impacts of anxiety and depression are felt not just widely, but also frequently:
Almost three-quarters of individuals (73 percent) who expressed anxiety or sadness stated they had felt this way more than once in their lifetimes.
