The prevalence of depression among adolescents and adults aged 12 years and older during August 2021 to August 2023 was 13.1%, a 60% increase from 2013–2014, according to an April data brief published by the National Center for Health Statistics.

Debra J. Brody, M.P.H., and Jeffrey P. Hughes, M.P.H., from the National Center for Health Statistics in Hyattsville, Maryland, used data from the August 2021 to August 2023 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys to assess the prevalence of depression in adolescents and adults aged 12 years or older.

The researchers found that the prevalence of depression in the past two weeks was 13.1% in adolescents and adults during August 2021 to August 2023, while the prevalence was 8.2% in 2013–2014. More females than males reported depression (16% versus 10.1%).

Prevalence decreased with increasing age: 19.2% of those aged 12 to 19 years reported depression compared with 8.7% of those 60 years and older. Prevalence also decreased with increasing family income, with more than one in five adolescents and adults with family income below the poverty line reporting depression.

“Among adolescents and adults with depression, 87.9% reported at least some difficulty with work, home, and social activities because of depression symptoms, and 39.3% received counseling or therapy from a mental health professional in the past 12 months,” the authors write.

A higher percentage of females than males reported receiving counseling or therapy in the previous 12 months (43.0 versus 33.2%).

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