Anxiety levels in the U.S. rose sharply from a year ago, according to a new survey by the American Psychiatric Association that asked Americans about their health, safety, finances, relationships, and politics, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Some 39 percent of Americans feel more anxious now than they did in 2017, and 19 percent said they felt less anxious now than at this time last year, the Times said.
According to the American Psychiatric Association study, the national anxiety score increased 5 percent to 51 on a scale of 0-100 scale since 2017. The country's anxiety scores increased across age groups, people of different race/ethnicity, and among men and women, per the association.
Millennials continued to be more anxious than Gen Xers or baby boomers, but baby boomer's anxiety increased the most with a 7-point jump between 2017 and 2018, the association added.
"This poll shows U.S. adults are increasingly anxious particularly about health, safety and finances," Dr. Anita Everett, the president of the American Psychiatric Association, said in statement released by the organization.
"That increased stress and anxiety can significantly impact many aspects of people's lives, including their mental health, and it can affect families. It highlights the need to help reduce the effects of stress with regular exercise, relaxation, healthy eating and time with friends and family," Everett continued.
The study suggested that women are more anxious than men, and also had a greater increase in anxiety than men between 2017 to 2018. More than half of women 18-49 years, 57 percent, reported being more anxious, compared to 38 percent of men the same age, per the study.
There was also a gender gap among older Americans, with 39 percent of women 50 and older and 24 percent of men 50 and older say they are more anxious now than this time last year, the study stated.
The study also found that people of color are more anxious by 11 points than Caucasians, and that Americans expressed nearly equal concerns about health, safety and paying bills, with somewhat less concern about politics and relationships.
The American Psychiatric Association is also the largest psychiatric association in the world with more than 37,800 physician members specializing in the diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and research of mental illnesses.
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