new research linking poor mental health in late adolescence with increased risk of a heart attack in middle age suggests trouble ahead for “generation covid.”
as early as april, experts were sounding alarms about a “fourth wave” of the pandemic — the toll of the virus on mental health. of particular concern are teens and young adults, who were experiencing higher levels of mental distress than previous generations well before covid-19.
according to a survey of 15- to 21-year-olds conducted by the
american psychological association
last year, that more than 25 per cent of “gen z” respondents reported fair or poor mental health, compared to 13 per cent of respondents from “gen x.”
covid-19 seems unlikely to improve matters. as both daily life and once-in-a-lifetime milestones are disrupted by social distancing measures —
proms
have been cancelled,
graduations
distilled into lawn signs — young people report growing concern about
anxiety and depression
.
now comes a study looking at the rates of heart attacks among swedish men assessed with “non-psychotic mental disorders” in late adolescence.
using records of more than 230,000 men born between 1952 and 1956 — subject to medical, physical and psychiatric examinations as part of compulsory military service — researchers identified 34,503 subjects diagnosed with illnesses such as anxiety and depression. their medical records were then tracked for rates of cardiovascular disease.