written in December 2020
Key takeaways:
- A large share of the U.S. population lives with depression and/or anxiety. Fills for depression/anxiety drugs reached an all-time peak in 2020.
- Across the board, COVID-19 has negatively impacted the mental health of people living with depression and/or anxiety: 63% of people living with depression and/or anxiety that we surveyed reported having worse or much worse symptoms since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- COVID-19 has also caused disruptions to prescription drug access that may be making it harder for people to fill and take their medications as prescribed. In our survey, 18% to 25% of people reported missing a prescription due to access or cost.
From job loss and isolation, to the fear of contracting a deadly disease, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to play a front-and-center role in our daily lives. But for some, the pandemic may be taking an especially large toll.
Research has linked the COVID-19 pandemic to increases in depression-like symptoms across the country, but how has the pandemic affected those that were already living with anxiety and/or depression? The GoodRx Research team surveyed over 1,000 adults diagnosed with anxiety and/or depression on their experiences with the COVID-19 pandemic, and the results are jarring.
Overall, two themes emerged from respondents. First off, the pandemic is worsening symptoms related to depression and anxiety, like lack of motivation, panic attacks, and even thoughts of self-harm or suicide. Secondly, COVID-19 is making it harder for some to access mental health care and manage symptoms of depression and/or anxiety.
Prescription fill trends for anxiety and depression treatments further underscore the dire effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health. Since 2016, fills for anxiety and depression medications have been increasing, and reached a peak in April 2020, just after the COVID-19 pandemic began in the United States. Though this may be reflective of the overall stockpiling of medications during the pandemic around this time, fill rates in 2020 are still higher than in any previous year. The fill rate in 2020 thus far has been about 9.5% higher on average than 2016.
CLICK here to continue reading