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Trends in anxiety among adults in the United States, 2008–2018: Rapid increases among young adults
Open accessAbstract
Introduction In a time of global uncertainty, understanding the psychological health of the American public is imperative. There are no current data on anxiety trends among adults in the United States (US) over time. This study aimed to investigate prevalence of anxiety among US adults from 2008 to 2018.Methods Data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), which is an annual, cross-sectional survey on substance use and mental health in the US, were analyzed in 2020. Prevalence of past-month anxiety was estimated among those ages ≥18, by survey year from 2008 to 2018. Time trends were tested using logistic regression.Results Anxiety increased from 5.12% in 2008 to 6.68% in 2018 (p < 0.0001) among adult Americans. Stratification by age revealed the most notable increase from 7.97% to 14.66% among respondents 18-25 years old (p < 0.001), which was a more rapid increase than among 26-34 and 35-49 year olds (differential time trend p < 0.001). Anxiety did not significantly increase among those ages 50 and older. Anxiety increased more rapidly among those never married and with some college education, relative to their respective counterparts. Apart from age, marital status and education, anxiety increased consistently among sociodemographic groups.Conclusions Anxiety is increasing among adults under age 50 in the US, with more rapid increase among young adults. To prepare for a healthier adulthood and given direct and indirect (via 24/7 media) exposure to anxiety-provoking world events, prophylactic measures that can bolster healthy coping responses and/or treatment seeking seem warranted on a broad scale.
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“approximately 15 % experienced past-month anxiety symptoms (Goodwin et al., 2020).”
From A text messaging intervention to support the mental health of young adults: User engagement and feedback from a field trial of an intervention prototype (2023) · cites this paper as Goodwin et al., 2020
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Metadata
- Authors
- Goodwin, R. D., Weinberger, A. H., Kim, J. H., Wu, M., & Galea, S.
- Affiliations
- Albert Einstein College of Medicine (US)
- City University of New York (US)
- Boston University (US)
- Venue
- Journal of Psychiatric Research
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2020-11
- Volume
- 130
- Pages
- 441-446
- ISSN
- 0022-3956 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC7441973
- OpenAlex
- W3081099479
- Semantic Scholar
- 95d0727323a384ceb09935636aee740d9400a434
- Cited by
- 426
- References
- 37
- Citations by year
- 2026: 70 · 2025: 113 · 2024: 102 · 2023: 82 · 2022: 40 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 2
- FWCI
- 38.53
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Journal of Psychiatric Research (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › COVID-19 and Mental Health
- Keywords
- anxiety, anxiety prevalence, temporal trends, young adults, age differences, marital status, educational attainment, sociodemographic factors, mental health, substance use, coping, treatment seeking, United States adults
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Anxiety, Anxiety Disorders, Cross-Sectional Studies, Health Surveys, Humans, Middle Aged, United States, Prevalence, Young Adult
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