New research has articulated the stakes of addressing youth mental health issues as early as possible.
Depressive symptoms in adolescence are at historic highs and are enduring into young adulthood, according to a new study by researchers at Columbia University and the University of Michigan. Those born between 1997 and 2001 had the highest rates of depressive symptoms at ages 18, 19 to 20, and 21 to 22 years among all birth cohorts for both males and females.
The prevalence of depressive symptoms in females declined with age but remained at a historically high level. For males, rates of depressive symptoms increased at age 22. Those born between 1997 and 2001 are the most recent birth cohort examined in the study.
“The findings of this cohort study suggest that the current increase in depressive symptoms among U.S. adolescents is swiftly shifting to an increase in young adult depressive symptoms as adolescents move into adulthood,” the study states. “Given this persistence, reducing the onset of depressive symptoms through primary prevention and mental health resources during the adolescent years is critical.”
Researchers examined longitudinal data from annual surveys conducted from 1990 to 2019. The birth years of roughly 37,000 respondents spanned from 1972 to 2001.
Specifically, about 19% of female respondents born from 1997 to 2001 had high depressive symptoms at age 18. That rate dropped to 12% by ages 21 to 22 years. For male respondents, about 13% had high depressive symptoms and showed an increase to about 16% for the same ages.
Compared to those born from 1972 to 1976, females born from 1997 to 2001 had about seven times higher odds of having high depressive symptoms, while males had about six times higher odds of having high depressive symptoms at ages 21 to 22.
“Population attributable fractions indicated that the total proportion of young adult symptoms associated with depressive symptoms at age 18 years among females has increased; in the most recent birth cohort, 55.25% of depressive symptoms at age 21 to 22 years were associated with symptoms at age 18 years,” the study reads.
However, the study did find that the relationship between depressive symptoms enduring into youth adulthood did not differ between the birth cohorts. In part, rates are higher later for the most recent birth cohort because their levels were high at age 18, demonstrating the worsening of youth mental health in recent years.
These data illustrate the need that several youth mental health-focused companies are seeking to address. In recent years, a flood of venture-backed telehealth or telehealth-enabled startups have joined more established, traditional behavioral health providers in the effort.
Some of the fastest-growing companies in the U.S. are behavioral health providers working with students in K-12 and post-secondary settings. These include telehealth providers Uwill and TimelyCare.
Most recently, BeMe Health landed a $12.5 million funding round from a single investor in anticipation of a formal Series A.
Headway founder Jake Sussman founded Marble earlier in the year to provide teens with in-network therapy. The company has raised $5 million in seed funding from venture capital firms, including Khosla Ventures, Town Hall Ventures and Daybreak Ventures. Backpack Health, formerly Youme Healthcare, raised $14 million in Series A funding in May.
Talkspace (Nasdaq: TALK), one of the largest digital mental health providers in the U.S., has a growing book of business with local municipalities like cities and school districts to provide care to young people.
