COVID-19 Pandemic Caused Higher Rates Of Anxiety For Black And Brown Americans, Study Finds
A new study finds that the coronavirus pandemic caused higher rates of anxiety in Black and Brown communities.
The study, published in the scientific journal Plus One, surveyed 691,473 people in the United States and United Kingdom from January 23, 2021 to June 9, 2021. It found that racial minorities experienced higher depression and anxiety rates compared to their white counterparts. The authors of the study also concluded that the mental health impacts of COVID-19 on Black and Latin American people are likely to last for years to come.
This is already on top of the fact that racial minorities experienced higher rates of COVID-19 infection over the past few years.
Black Americans were 1.16 times more likely to screen positive for depression than White respondents. Latin Americans and Asian Americans were 1.23 and 1.15 times more likely to screen positive for depression, respectively, with the numbers being similar to those same groups in the U.K.
“We witnessed increasing numbers of people experiencing anxiety and suicidal ideation throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly among Black, Indigenous, and people of color,” Maddy Reinert, senior director of population health at Mental Health Association, says, according to CNBC.
Additionally, the study finds that from 2019 to 2021, the number of Black respondents who screened for moderate to severe anxiety increased 5 percent. During the same years, suicidal ideation increased 9 percent among Black respondents.
“The early phase of COVID-19 pandemic was incredibly disruptive to everyday life,” study authors told ScienceDaily.com. “We found that racial and ethnic minorities in the U.S. and U.K. were more likely to screen positive for depression and anxiety. This suggests a disproportionate impact and mental health burden on persons of color, which need to be considered as we reshape health care systems to prioritize the long-term consequences of this disease.”
Read the study’s full findings here.
