ArticleJournal of epidemiology and community health2023
Trends in psychological distress in Great Britain, 1991-2019: evidence from three representative surveys.
Article in Journal of epidemiology and community health, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed.
- Relaxation music for stress alleviation: Exploring relationships of audio features and listener profiles.Musicae scientiae : the journal of the European Society for the Cognitive Sciences of Music · 2026Article
- Trends in psychological distress among adolescents in Ireland: survey data from 2018 to 2023 & lived experience perspective.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2026Article
- Adverse mental health outcomes and alcohol misuse among UK Armed Forces personnel: fourth phase of a 20-year cohort study of military personnel who served during the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.Occupational and environmental medicine · 2026Article
- Mental health of Portuguese nurses in 2024: what has changed since 2017? A cross-sectional observational comparative study.Journal of research in nursing : JRN · 2026Article
- Understanding changes to life expectancy and inequalities in the UK, Germany, and other high-income countries.Bundesgesundheitsblatt, Gesundheitsforschung, Gesundheitsschutz · 2025Review
- A new era of inequality: profound changes to mortality in England, Scotland, and 10 major British cities.European journal of public health · 2025Article
- Mental health of UK youth following the removal of the Education Maintenance Allowance in England: a natural experiment study using Understanding Society data.BMJ public health · 2025Article
- Extrinsic goals benefit capitalism but not well-being. Rethinking the economy's goal for a healthier future.Health promotion international · 2024Article
- Financial-related discrimination and socioeconomic inequalities in psychological well-being related measures: a longitudinal study.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Influenza: cause or excuse? An analysis of flu's influence on worsening mortality trends in England and Wales, 2010-19.British medical bulletin · 2024Article
- Were COVID and the Great Recession well-being reducing?PloS one · 2024Article
- Global trends in emotional distress.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2023Article
- Vitality Revisited: The Evolving Concept of Flourishing and Its Relevance to Personal and Public Health.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundPreviously improving UK mortality trends stalled around 2012, with evidence implicating economic policy as the cause. This paper examines whether trends in psychological distress across three population surveys show similar trends.
methodsWe report the percentages reporting psychological distress (4+ in the 12-item General Health Questionnaire) from Understanding Society (Great Britain, 1991-2019), Scottish Health Survey (SHeS, 1995-2019) and Health Survey for England (HSE, 2003-2018) for the population overall, and stratified by sex, age and area deprivation. Summary inequality indices were calculated and segmented regressions fitted to identify breakpoints after 2010.
resultsPsychological distress was higher in Understanding Society than in SHeS or HSE. There was slight improvement between 1992 and 2015 in Understanding Society (with prevalence declining from 20.6% to 18.6%) with some fluctuations. After 2015 there is some evidence of a worsening in psychological distress across surveys. Prevalence worsened notably among those aged 16-34 years after 2010 (all three surveys), and aged 35-64 years in Understanding Society and SHeS after 2015. In contrast, the prevalence declined in those aged 65+ years in Understanding Society after around 2008, with less clear trends in the other surveys. The prevalence was around twice as high in the most deprived compared with the least deprived areas, and higher in women, with trends by deprivation and sex similar to the populations overall.
conclusionPsychological distress worsened among working-age adults after around 2015 across British population surveys, mirroring the mortality trends. This indicates a widespread mental health crisis that predates the COVID-19 pandemic.
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