Sharp rises in rates of anxiety, depression and other disorders have led to one in four young people in England having a common mental health condition, an NHS survey shows, with young women nearly three times more likely to report them than young men.
The study found that rates of such conditions in 16- to 24-year-olds have risen by more than a third in a decade, from 18.9% in 2014 to 25.8% in 2024.
Results from the adult psychiatric morbidity survey showed that reports of common mental health conditions – a term that also includes panic disorder, phobias and obsessive compulsive disorder – occurred almost three times as often in young women (36%) as young men (13.5%).
Sally McManus, one of the lead researchers on the survey, said the figures reflect many global trends disproportionately affecting young people.
“Young people are growing up worried about many aspects of their lives, from insecure employment and housing through to Covid and climate change. Young people may have been one of the one groups whose mental health was most affected by Covid,” she said.
The study also found sharp increases in overall prevalence of mental ill health, suicidal thoughts and self-harm across age groups:
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More than a fifth (22.6%) of adults aged 16 to 64 have a common mental health condition, up from 18.9% in 2014.
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More than one in four adults (25.2%) reported having had suicidal thoughts during their lifetime, including about a third of 16- 24-year-olds (31.5%) and 25- to 34-year-olds (32.9%).
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Self-harm rates have quadrupled since 2000 and risen from 6.4% in 2014 to 10.3% in 2024, with the highest rates among 16- to 24-year-olds at 24.6%, especially young women at 31.7%.
McManus said: “That upward trend is pretty much evident across the board. It’s just that we do see, by far and away, the highest rates [of self-harm and suicidal ideation] in young women.”
There was no evidence of over-reporting of mental health conditions, she added. “I don’t see this as reflecting over-identification or over-reporting, although there is greater awareness and less stigma. There’s no evidence from our data to indicate over-reporting, but in the past there may well have been under-reporting.”
More people with mental ill health are getting treatment, the study also shows, with nearly half (47%) of 16- to 74-year-olds with common mental health issues having therapy or medication for anxiety, depression, panic disorder, phobias or OCD, up from previous surveys. But most people who experience gambling harms have never received gambling-specific treatment or support, the survey found. And overall, more than half of people with common mental health conditions are not getting the help they need, experts said.
Marjorie Wallace, the chief executive of the mental health charity Sane, said: “This report exposes the huge scale of need facing a system that is already in breakdown, particularly involving the services available to young people.”
Dr Sarah Hughes, the chief executive of Mind, said: “The nation’s mental health is deteriorating and our current system is overwhelmed, underfunded and unequal to the scale of the challenge. After the trauma of the pandemic, the relentless cost of living crisis and persistent racial inequalities, it is no surprise that mental health has suffered – especially for the young. But it is unacceptable that services still aren’t meeting people’s needs.”
Claire Murdoch, NHS England’s national director for mental health, said: “Being in poor mental health not only affects people’s personal lives but can have a huge impact on employment and physical health. I’m pleased to see that the expansion and digital transformation of our services is supporting more people, with services like NHS talking therapies – which you can now self-refer to and be seen online – helping people access support to do the everyday things others may take for granted.
“We know more needs to be done to increase access to care and we are working closely with the government on the upcoming 10-year health plan to create better mental health services for patients and reach more people, as part of the wider social shift we need to see in how we tackle mental health.”
Dr Lade Smith, president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said: “Now more than ever, we need urgent and sustained investment in the mental health workforce and infrastructure. The rising demand is clear. We must match it with a system that is given the required resources to respond with compassion, speed and fairness.”