The growing mental health crisis is often thought of as an affliction reserved for young Americans facing increasingly uncertain futures.
But intriguing new figures suggest this is far from the case.
Diagnoses of mental health conditions like anxiety and depression have skyrocketed among older Americans, reaching a higher prevalence than ever, according to a new analysis by healthcare data firm FAIR Health.
In fact, data shows that the biggest jump in mental illness between 2019 and 2023 occurred among those over 65 years of age.
About 14 percent of adults over 65 were diagnosed with some type of mental illness in 2023, compared to nine percent in 2019. This marks an increase of 57 percent.
Meanwhile, adults ages 23 to 40 saw a 44 percent increase and children under 10 saw a 30 percent increase.
A study by FAIR Health researchers assessed increases in mental illness diagnoses for different age groups from 2019 to 2023. Each age group saw an increase
The biggest jump came in Americans over age 65, which experts say could be due to increased awareness and access to telehealth during the pandemic.
Overall, the number of people diagnosed with mental health problems increased by 40 percent in this period, according to data from 46 billion insurance claims were shown.
Generalized anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder were the most common diagnoses, but perhaps most intriguingly, the rate of ADHD diagnoses skyrocketed by 70 percent.
Based on previous research, this appears to be a larger increase compared to other younger age groups.
A study published in JAMA found a 43 percent increase in ADHD diagnoses in adults and a 13 percent increase in children over 10 years old.
The latest findings have baffled experts, who have long believed that boomers are somehow protected from mental health problems due to their infrequent use of social media, on average, which is said to drive the psychiatric deterioration of the younger generation.
However, experts have offered some possible theories to explain the increase in shock.
For the most part, they have noted that it could increase due to greater access to telehealth and therapists during the pandemic and diagnoses like ADHD being missed in childhood.
The smallest jump in mental illness was seen in children ages 10 to 13, with diagnoses increasing slightly from 18.1 percent to 19 percent.
Robin Gelburd, president of FAIR Health, said: “We hope these findings will also be starting points for future research into mental illness.”
The FAIR Health report found that overall, the number of patients diagnosed with mental illness increased to 13.5 percent in 2019, to 18.9 percent in 2023, an increase of 39.8 percent.
In almost all age groups, women were more likely than men to have mental health problems. Although there were increases in both genders, women experienced a 44.6 percent increase, while men had a 32.7 percent increase.
The most common diagnoses were generalized anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, and ADHD.
TO recent CDC report found that nearly one in five Americans (18.4 percent) reported having been diagnosed with depression. This is more than 46 million adults.
Additionally, the NIH estimates that 31 percent of American adults (nearly 80 million) experience an anxiety disorder at some point in their lives.
Meanwhile, federal data suggests that one in seven children under age 17 in the U.S. has been diagnosed with ADHD, and more than 8.7 million American adults suffer from the condition.
The researchers noted that the main limitation of the study was including only data from patients with private insurance and only one form of Medicare, Medicare Advantage. The report was also not peer-reviewed.
The graph below shows an increase in insurance claims for mental health diagnoses from 2019 to 2023.
A TikTok user named Janice posted about her 79-year-old mother who received an ADHD diagnosis for the first time. “I couldn’t believe the difference the medications were making for her,” she said.
Several older adults have reported that they have been diagnosed with mental health problems now compared to when they were younger because they did not know what they were.
A TikTok user named Janine, for example, posted a video in July talking about her mother’s recent ADHD diagnosis.
“A couple of weeks ago, my mother, who is 79 years old, was diagnosed with ADHD for the first time, and I brought it to her attention because both of my children were diagnosed and then I was diagnosed,” she said. .
Her experience made her realize that her mother may have signs. Shortly after starting the medication, her mother noticed improvements.
“He had to call me yesterday just to tell me he had done things,” Janine said. “That she was up, she was moving, she wasn’t tired, she felt active, and I couldn’t believe the difference the medications were making in her.”