U.S. adults experienced a “significant increase” in mental health complaints after the COVID-19 pandemic restricted social interaction, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday.

The CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics estimated that anxiety symptoms increased from 15.6% of all adults responding to a nationwide survey in 2019 to 18.2% in 2022. Depression symptoms rose from 18.5% to 21.4% of adults over the same period.

“This report provides a snapshot of two time periods, one before the COVID-19 pandemic and the other during the pandemic, although closer to the declared end to the pandemic than the peak,” said Emily Terlizzi, a CDC statistician and co-author of the report. “Although it is not possible to attribute increases seen in the prevalence of anxiety and depression symptoms directly to the pandemic, previous studies have found the pandemic contributed to increased stress levels as well as social isolation and loneliness, particularly at its onset.”

Ms. Terlizzi added that “measuring the prevalence of anxiety and depression symptoms … helps gauge the adequacy of available services and interventions.”

Increases in symptoms of anxiety and depression occurred among all racial and demographic groups, including adults aged 18 to 44 and those with high education levels.

The CDC found the surges were worst among young adults aged 18 to 29, women, high school dropouts, rural residents and people living at or below the federal poverty line.

Researchers also noted that Asian Americans were less likely than Hispanic, Black and White adults to report experiencing anxiety and depression during the last two weeks before they finished the surveys.

The findings come as public health officials have flagged increased screen time since the pandemic as a public health crisis threatening the academic performance, mental health and decision-making skills of teens and young adults.

Reached for comment, some health experts not involved with the CDC report blamed the trend squarely on public health restrictions during the pandemic. They noted that excessive limits fueled increased social isolation among young people struggling before the outbreak.

“Many Americans lost family members and even more faced social isolation as the world went into lockdown during the pandemic,” said Dr. Laura Erickson-Schroth, a psychiatrist and chief medical officer at the Jed Foundation, a nonprofit teen and young adult suicide prevention group.

She noted that young people are coming of age in a digital world that is radically different from the society that formed their parents and grandparents.

“Social media plays a role, but they are also living in an era of school shootings and climate disasters,” Dr. Erickson-Schroth added. “They’re spending less than half as much time in person with friends as they did two decades ago — and this was true even before the pandemic began.

According to the experts, the CDC figures confirm that young people emerging from pandemic isolation need more opportunities for connection to draw them away from their smartphones.

“It is absolutely essential for the physical and emotional health of humans to maintain social bonds with other humans,” said Katy Talento, an epidemiologist who served as President Donald Trump’s top health adviser at the White House Domestic Policy Council before the pandemic. “The official pandemic response driven by big medicine and big government trampled on personal responsibility and individual agency and did unimaginable damage to many.”

For more information, visit The Washington Times COVID-19 resource page.