The study utilized 2005-2006, 2008-2009, and 2010-2011 data on 81,313 adults, aged 18 to 64 years old, from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) to designate the pre-recession, during recession, and post-recession periods. - Men and women in the U.S. had lower odds of depression diagnoses and better mental health during the Great Recession of 2007-09 compared to pre-recession according to a University of Maryland (UMD) study published in the journal PLOS ONE. The analyses showed consistent findings in regards to lower depression diagnoses and better mental health during the recession across the four different regions of the U.S., and by employment status, income, and health care utilization. Importantly, we found that the higher odds of anxiety diagnoses among females after the recession were mainly prominent among specific subgroups of females: those who lived in the Northeast or the Midwest, the unemployed, and those with low household income. These findings highlight certain vulnerable groups, such as unemployed and low income women and non-users of health services, whom policymakers should take into consideration when designing economic and social policies to address economic downturns. "Future research should investigate whether the decreased rate of depression diagnoses and better mental health among men and women stems from decreased mental healthcare utilization or increased social support and time for recreational activities," Dr. Dagher said. While annual spending on mental healthcare by private health insurance was around 7.0% in 2004–2007, it decreased to 2.1% during 2007–2009 Great Recession in the U.S. [7], which may have negatively impacted people’s ability to access mental health care due to losses in health insurance coverage. The research team, which included co-authors Jie Chen, assistant professor, and Stephen B. Thomas, professor, also in the Department of Health Services Administration, stated that past research on the effect of macroeconomic conditions on mental health have yielded mixed findings, although they did not predict that the recession would bring lower depression diagnoses and better mental health for men and women. In fact, research in the U.S. has shown that physician visits for treatment of anxiety or depression significantly decreased during the Great Recession [20]. Led by Dr. Rada K. Dagher, assistant professor of health services administration in the UMD School of Public Health, this large, national study is the first in the U.S. known to examine the association between the Great Recession and mental health at the population level. Materials and Methods Data This study utilized 2005–2006, 2008–2009, and 2010–2011 cross-sectional data—designating the pre-recession, during recession, and post-recession periods—from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), a nationally representative survey of the U.S. non-institutionalized civilian population [25]. The MEPS consolidated file includes information on patients’ socio-demographic characteristics and mental health measures, including self-reported mental health, the 12-item Short Form Mental Health Summary (SF-12 MCS) measure, and the Kessler 6 (K6) scale of non-specific psychological distress. Discussion In this large nationally representative study of the U.S. population, we found that both males and females were less likely to be diagnosed with depression during and after the recession compared to pre-recession; however, females were more likely to be diagnosed with anxiety after the recession compared to pre-recession. "Research has consistently found that women are twice as likely to have an anxiety disorder than men and these gender differences may have persisted throughout the recession and the post-recession period," Dr. Dagher said. One possible explanation is what some researchers have hypothesized and shown that during economic downturns, there is more leisure time to spend on family, friends, and exercise [9, 40–42], which may decrease the likelihood of depression. Moreover, the passage of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 [44] may have facilitated access to mental health care in a timely fashion which may have prevented serious mental illnesses. As seen from the stratified analyses by health services use, males and females who were diagnosed with anxiety or depression and did not receive any health services had worse self-reported mental health during and after the recession compared to pre-recession. It is foreseeable that the Affordable Care Act will help these disadvantaged groups that have no access to health services with its mandate for state-insurance exchanges to have a base-level package that includes mental health coverage, its mandate for insurers to cover depression screening among other preventive services for free, and expansions of eligibility in Medicaid programs. Future research should examine state specific unemployment rates to examine the impact of economic recessions on mental health outcomes.
– Americans appear to have experienced better mental health during the recent recession than during the years leading up to it. So say researchers out of the University of Maryland who crunched data on depression, anxiety, and psychological disorders in a study published this week in PLoS ONE. The reason remains unclear, and the researchers say more investigation is needed in a post at EurekaAlert. On the one hand, the drop in diagnoses could be because people who are out of work have less access to mental health services. On the other hand, it could be because they're spending more time with family or on leisure activities and are happier as a result. The study used data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey of 81,313 adults between 2005 and 2011. Both men and women saw better mental health and had lower odds of being diagnosed with depression during the 2007-09 recession, though women were more likely to be diagnosed with anxiety after the recession. Unemployed or low-income women in the Northeast and Midwest were most likely to be diagnosed with anxiety, which the lead researcher says "could help policymakers craft targeted responses." The researchers think state-by-state analyses using unemployment rates could lead to better policies. (People who live in thin-air states might want to pay special attention.)