QuickStats: Percentage of Adults Aged ≥18 Years with Serious Psychological Distress in the Past 30 Days, by Sex and Age Group — National Health Interview Survey, United States, 2021

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• With 95% CIs indicated by error bars.

† Serious psychological distress is based on responses to six questions, “During the past 30 days, how often did you feel 1) so sad that nothing could cheer you up, 2) nervous, 3) restless or fidgety, 4) hopeless, 5) that everything was an effort, or 6) worthless?” The response options “none of the time,” “a little of the time,” “some of the time,” “most of the time,” and “all of the time” were each scored from 0–4 points, respectively, and then summed for a total score ranging from 0–24 points. A value of ≥13 was used to define serious psychological distress. Only respondents who answered all six questions were included in the analysis.

§ Estimates are based on household interviews of a sample of the civilian, noninstitutionalized U.S. population.

In 2021, 3.7% of adults aged ≥18 years had serious psychological distress in the past 30 days with percentages higher among women (4.6%) than among men (2.7%). The higher percentages among women were seen across all age groups: 5.6% versus 3.1% in adults aged 18–44 years, 4.5% versus 2.8% in those aged 45–64 years, and 2.8% versus 1.7% in those aged ≥65 years. The percentage of women who had serious psychological distress in the past 30 days decreased with age; the percentage of men who had serious psychological distress in the past 30 days was higher among those aged 18–44 and 45–64 years than among those aged ≥65 years.

Source: National Center for Health Statistics, National Health Interview Survey, 2021. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis.htm

Reported by: Nazik Elgaddal, MS, nelgaddal@cdc.gov; Laryssa Mykyta, PhD; Cynthia Reuben, MA.

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