Almost two years since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the impact it has had on the mental health of populations worldwide is now being felt.

According to a scientific brief released by the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday (March 2), in the first year of the pandemic, the global prevalence of anxiety and depression increased by 25 per cent.

It’s an increase that the brief attributed majorly to the unprecedented stress caused by forced social isolation to curb the spread of the virus.

This isolation led to constraints on people’s ability to work, seek support from loved ones and engage in their communities.

In addition to the challenges associated with isolation, loneliness, fear of infection, suffering and death for oneself and for loved ones, grief after bereavement and financial worries have also all been cited as stressors leading to anxiety and depression.

Among the groups whose mental health were most impacted by the pandemic, the brief cited young people and women.

According to estimates from the latest Global Burden of Disease study included in the brief, “the pandemic has affected the mental health of young people,” leaving them “disproportionally at risk of suicidal and self-harming behaviours”.

The study further indicated “that women have been more severely impacted than men and that people with pre-existing physical health conditions, such as asthma, cancer and heart disease, were more likely to develop symptoms of mental disorders”.

Speaking on the brief’s findings, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, noted: “The information we have now about the impact of COVID-19 on the world’s mental health is just the tip of the iceberg.

“This is a wake-up call to all countries to pay more attention to mental health and do a better job of supporting their populations’ mental health.”