UK rates of depression double among adults during lockdown

LONDON (AP) — Rates of depression appear to have almost doubled in Britain since the country was put into lockdown in late March as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the country's official statistics agency.

The Office for National Statistics said in a special study released Tuesday that 19.2% of adults were likely to be experiencing symptoms of depression in June, three months into the lockdown of large chunks of society and the economy. That proportion is up from 9.7% recorded between July 2019 and March.

The statistics agency, which assessed the same 3,527 of adults before and during the pandemic, said feelings of stress or anxiety were the most common way adults were experiencing some form of depression, with around 85% of those reporting symptoms.

“Revisiting this same group of adults before and during the pandemic provides a unique insight into how their symptoms of depression have changed over time,” said statistician Tim Vizard.

During the height of the lockdown, which was imposed on March 23 and has only been eased over the past couple of months, people were isolated from friends and family, and often alone — an isolation backdrop that has the potential to cause mental harm.

In addition, people have clearly fretted about contracting and then spreading the coronavirus in a country that now has Europe's highest COVID-related death toll with more than 40,000 victims.

Many people have also been worried about their jobs and future financial well-being as the economy nose-dived in the face of the restrictions on everyday life.

Though all age brackets reported higher levels of depression, the study found that younger adults between 16 and 39 years of age were proportionately more likely to do so, with nearly a third reporting symptoms of...