Study Finds Women More Likely Than Men to Experience Mild to Severe Anxiety
New data released by the CDC in the U.S. determined women were more likely than men to experience mild, moderate, or severe anxiety symptoms in the past two weeks.
New data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics reported that in 2019 women were more prone to experience symptoms of depression and anxiety than men.
The research surveyed close to 32,000 adults plus 6,800 children over more than 33,000 households and found that women and are more likely to receive treatment, or use prescription medication, to better their mental wellness.
Women were more likely than men to experience mild, moderate, or severe anxiety symptoms in the past two weeks.
- A total of 19.0% of women experienced anxiety symptoms in the past 2 weeks that were either mild, moderate, or severe, compared with 11.9% of men (Figure 3).
- Women were more likely than men to have experienced anxiety symptoms that were mild (11.3% and 7.6%, respectively), moderate (4.3% and 2.4%), and severe (3.5% and 1.9%).
“Even outside of the pandemic, women seem to be uniquely vulnerable to depression,” Dr. Pooja Lakshmin, a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at George Washington University School of Medicine who specializes in women’s mental health, told ABC News. “I think there’s more permission for women to say, ‘Hey, I need help.’ That framework exists for women in a way where for men it’s much harder to do that. But at the same time, there are still gaps in our mental health system.”
