A survey of more than 107,000 US adult participants in the National Health Interview Survey from 2019 to 2022 reveals significantly elevated rates of clinician-diagnosed depression or anxiety, with persistent or widened racial health disparities, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
For the study, published late last week in BMC Medicine, the Harvard-led research team collected data on self-reported health status (ie, overall health, functional limitations, and depression or anxiety) and healthcare access and affordability. The median age of the 107,230 participants was 48.1 years, 51.6% were women, 64.5% were White, 17.3% were Hispanic, 12.1% were Black, and 6.1% were Asian.
“Data suggest that the adverse mental health effects and mental health care during COVID-19 pandemic also differ significantly by age, education, employment status, and income levels,” the study authors wrote.
“Moreover, it is well-known that the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected disadvantaged populations and communities, further highlighting the importance of social determinants of health in influencing COVID-19 health outcomes,” they added.
Insurance access, affordability improved only for Whites
Low-income Black participants had the highest rates of poor or fair health (30.9% in 2019 and 28.4% in 2022), and this racial gap didn’t change significantly, regardless of income.
These trends continue to underscore additional public health and policy interventions are needed to further reduce the racial/ethnic and income disparities in health status and healthcare access and affordability.
The prevalence of depression or anxiety rose over the study period for all racial groups, particularly for Whites (from 32.6% to 38.2%), which the researchers said may reflect this group’s relatively restricted neighborhood social cohesion during the pandemic. Functional limitations remained steady, regardless of income.
Low-income Hispanic respondents had the highest estimated prevalence of limited healthcare access. Health insurance access and affordability significantly improved for low-income White people, but not for other racial groups.
“These trends continue to underscore additional public health and policy interventions are needed to further reduce the racial/ethnic and income disparities in health status and healthcare access and affordability,” the researchers wrote. “Also, there is an urgent need to promote psychological health and broaden mental health care access of US adults after the pandemic.”
