One in four young people in England have mental health condition, NHS survey finds
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 three times more likely than men to report them.
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 (36.1%) 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:
More than a fifth (22.6%) of adults aged 16 to 64 have a common mental health condition, up from 18.9% in 2014.
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%).
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 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.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
27 minutes ago
- The Independent
Putting cancer warnings on alcohol would help me drink less
Back in the early noughties, the indoor smoking ban led to an outcry over 'the nanny state'. The same happened when cigarette advertising was banned, and when manufacturers were required to plaster packs with images of diseased lungs. Yet over the past 40 years, according to Cancer Research, lung cancer rates in men have dropped by around 60 per cent. We may think we crave the rugged freedoms of the Marlboro Man, but given the facts, it turns out we don't actually want to die. And yet when it comes to alcohol, one of the world's biggest killers, a key driver of cancers, heart disease, strokes and obesity, there are no images of rotting livers on the chilled Sauvignon. The presentation of booze in the supermarket aisles is as benign as kitchen roll and chicken pie. It's described on restaurant menus with biblical reverence, it's advertised on TV in a hazy, golden-hour glow, and every other greetings card carries a hilarious reference to the booze-addled nature of the recipient. It is both normalised and celebrated, despite being the fifth greatest risk factor for death in the UK. Now, a group of major medical and health organisations have signed a letter to the Prime Minister calling for alcohol to carry explicit warnings that its consumption can cause cancer. The World Cancer Research Fund, which spearheaded the letter, cited 'shockingly low' public awareness that alcohol raises the risk of seven types of cancer – these being breast, bowel, stomach, head, neck, liver and mouth – and insisted that 'bold and unambiguous labelling' is urgently need to help save lives. Token efforts have long been made by the industry to toe a wavering line of responsibility – the number of units a bottle of wine contains written in a font the size of a gnat's IKEA instructions, or a glancing mention that pregnant women shouldn't drink. According to the Advertising Standards Authority, 'Lively, but responsible, social interaction or party scenes with alcohol present are allowed but…no behaviour may be adolescent or childish.' If only that diktat held true in real-life 'party scenes.' Initially, like much of Gen X and our wine-necking Boomer parents, I was resistant to the idea of cancer warnings. If I wanted to slowly kill myself in a responsible and socially acceptable manner, I felt it should be my choice to do so. But after another night of drinking slightly too much with friends, waking bathed in shame and a light prosecco sweat, I reconsidered. Women, particularly, are at risk of harm from alcohol, simply because we're smaller. If every time I picked up the wine bottle to top up my glass – over a healthy dinner! So civilised! – it reminded me that I was increasing my risk of cancer, I suspect I might put it back down. Humans like to ignore the dangers when it's something we want to do until it becomes impossible to turn a blind eye. But this time, it's not so much the consumers resisting warnings as the enormously powerful drinks industry. It's already up against Gen Z's wellbeing crusade, with a tsunami of kumbucha and kefir washing away the old-school shots and spirits from nights out. The risk of drinkers murmuring, 'Actually, I don't think I do want seven types of cancer' and switching the kettle on instead is a step too far. A spokesperson for the Portman Group, which oversees UK alcohol labelling in the UK, says: 'Whilst we do not dispute the link between alcohol and certain cancers… blanket cancer warning labels…can create unnecessary anxiety, eroding trust in health advice and alienating the very people who require support.' As an argument, this is weaker than a sixth-form debating point scribbled on the bus. Imagine the motor industry saying, 'Road signs create unnecessary anxiety. Let's not warn people that they might crash, lest we alienate drivers.' The spokesperson added that most alcohol products already include advice to limit drinking to 14 units a week, and claimed that 'most people drink within guidelines.' According to NHS Digital, however, 24 per cent of Brits drink more than this, while the charity Drinkaware has found that 32 per cent of men and 15 per cent of women regularly sink more than the recommended limit – and it is a limit, not a target. Doctors repeatedly warn that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption, and in April, the World Health Organisation advised that women should drink no alcohol at all to avoid a heightened risk of breast cancer. I'm aware that even reading this is annoying. I share the general British resentment over finger-wagging admonishments from the Fun Police. I want to say, 'You'll prise my Picpoul from my cold, dead hand.' The only thing is, I'd rather not be cold and dead – and I'm increasingly convinced that warning labels can only be a good thing. Although, of course, we must be careful how we approach this new regime. After all, we wouldn't want to alienate anybody.
BBC News
33 minutes ago
- BBC News
Update on Guildford paddling pool plagued by problems
The public paddling pool in Guildford's Stoke Park is no stranger to opened a month late last year because of staff sickness and in 2022 was forced to shut just days after a £141,000 refurbishment because parents said its floor was too slippery for the pool is once again more than a month late to open as engineers try to balance the chlorine levels, and are yet to determine what is causing the asked how much the ongoing work is costing the taxpayer, the leader of Guildford Borough Council was unable to answer. So what exactly is going on at Stoke Park and what needs to happen for the pool to reopen? Respiratory problems Council leader Julia McShane told BBC Radio Surrey that the current high levels of chlorine in the water could be a public health said it would particularly affect vulnerable people and might lead to skin or eye irritation as well as stomach and breathing problems."We don't want to be causing people those issues to their health," she said. "I can reassure people that the teams are working incredibly hard with experts to try to find out what the problem is and to resolve this as quickly as possible so we can get this pool open again."But with temperatures in Guildford set to hit 32C on Monday, many families have been left feeling frustrated."It doesn't seem like they can get it right on anything really, it's a real shame that it's like that again, we had a lovely summer here last year once it was sorted," one parent told us: "We're all sad because we used it last year and it was lovely, a lot of people enjoyed being there, but unfortunately it's not open." What happens now? Ms McShane said it would not be fair to give a reopening date to the public as a timeframe for repairs is not yet clear, but she did say work would continue from next week."The team are going to empty the pool again, flush it through, fill it back up again, probably try a different chemical treatment and then test it again," she said."When we're absolutely certain that the pool is safe to use, then we'll reopen."And how much is this all costing?Ms McShane was unable to give a figure and the council did not provide us with one either when we followed it for now, families will just have to keep their fingers crossed and hope the sun is still around when the pool eventually reopens.
BBC News
33 minutes ago
- BBC News
Parents of Orlando Davis welcome national maternity inquiry
The parents of a baby who died as a result of hospital negligence have said a national inquiry into maternity services will "unravel a huge wider picture" of injury and midwife Robyn Davis and her husband Jonathan, from Steyning, West Sussex, lost their son Orlando 14 days after he was born by emergency caesarean at Worthing Hospital in September Health Secretary Wes Streeting announced an investigation into maternity failings in England, the couple said: "Unfortunately, this is happening everywhere."University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust's chief medical officer Prof Katie Urch, said it was "fully supporting this investigation to help improve maternity care". An inquest into Orlando's death found he had suffered brain damage after clinicians failed to recognise that Mrs Davis had developed hyponatremia - a lower than normal level of sodium in the bloodstream - during couple told the BBC they were told by University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust that their case was "really rare".But, after speaking to other families, they discovered "this was not the case whatsoever". "We've very quickly found that, of course, there are multiple families that are not only going through baby loss, they're going through birth injuries, they're going through birth trauma," said couple said they hoped for a wider public inquiry, adding that they wanted to see real change."How many times do we find ourselves hearing of a maternity issue – children dying, mums passing or almost passing or being left with lifelong injuries," said Jonathan."[Then] it happens again."Improvements are also needed in how regulatory organisations support families looking for answers, he said, adding that the process felt like "an endurance race"."Robyn was a midwife at Worthing Hospital... so what chance does a normal member of the public have?" he said. 'Immense courage' Nicola Wise, the Care Quality Commission's director of secondary and specialist care, said: "Safe, high-quality maternity care for all should be the minimum expectation for women and babies – and is what staff working in maternity services across the country want to provide."The Nursing and Midwifery Council's interim chief executive and registrar, Paul Rees MBE, said: "It is vital that when people raise concerns with us, their experience is as positive and supportive as possible. We are working to improve both the timeliness of our investigations and the experience for everyone involved."A General Medical Council spokesperson said: "We take our responsibility extremely seriously and will investigate when there is evidence that indicates a doctor's current fitness to practise could be impaired."UH Sussex's chief medical officer, Prof Katie Urch, said bereaved families "have shown immense courage in sharing their experiences and we remain committed to listening to and learning from them".
