# Mental distress in young adults: report

Chapter 4.5 of ZIP Code Destiny, by Vishal Singh (NYU Stern). Generated from the chapter's data files; the reading version is at https://vishalsingh.org/zipcode/mental-distress-in-young-adults. Table n of this report is figure n of the chapter.

## Identification

- Title: Mental distress in young adults
- Label: The young and the anxious
- Chapter: 4.5 (Part IV, Becoming an adult; An American life)
- Question: How has frequent mental distress among young adults changed since 2014, and does it differ by income and place?
- Dek: Frequent mental distress among adults 18 to 24 rose from 12.3% in 2014 to 25.3% in 2022 and was 21.8% in 2024, in a survey that draws new adults each year.
- Grain: individuals
- Status: published
- Published: 2026-10-09
- Updated: not revised
- Data sources:
  - BRFSS. BRFSS public-use microdata, 2014-2024: days of poor mental health (core item, all years), ever told of a depressive disorder (core item, all years), age, sex, household income, education and metro status; adults in the 50 states and DC; years: 2014-2024; weights: design-based: final weight, stratum and primary sampling unit
- Canonical URL: https://vishalsingh.org/zipcode/mental-distress-in-young-adults
- Report: https://vishalsingh.org/zipcode/mental-distress-in-young-adults/report
- Markdown: https://vishalsingh.org/zipcode/mental-distress-in-young-adults/report.md
- BibTeX key: singh2026mentaldistressinyoungadults

```bibtex
@misc{singh2026mentaldistressinyoungadults,
  author = {Singh, Vishal},
  title = {Mental distress in young adults},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://vishalsingh.org/zipcode/mental-distress-in-young-adults},
  note = {In ZIP Code Destiny. Published 9 October 2026.}
}
```

## Principal estimates

The facts the dek and the opening prose cite, in order of appearance.

| Estimand | Population | Period | Value | Interval | n | Weights | Source | Fact id |
| --- | --- | --- | ---: | --- | ---: | --- | --- | --- |
| definition used in this chapter, not an estimate | an age group of respondents defined in this chapter | 2014 to 2024 | 18 to 24 |   |   | none (definition) | BRFSS | band_young |
| design-based weighted share of respondents, logit interval from Taylor linearization | adults 18 to 24 in the 50 states and DC | 2014 | 12.3% | 95% CI 11.6% to 13.0% | 23,152 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS | fmd_young_2014 |
| design-based weighted share of respondents, logit interval from Taylor linearization | adults 18 to 24 in the 50 states and DC | 2022 | 25.3% | 95% CI 24.4% to 26.2% | 25,815 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS | fmd_young_2022 |
| design-based weighted share of respondents, logit interval from Taylor linearization | adults 18 to 24 in the 50 states and DC | 2024 | 21.8% | 95% CI 20.9% to 22.7% | 28,711 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS | fmd_young_2024 |
| definition used in this chapter, not an estimate | cutoff for frequent mental distress | 2014 to 2024 | 14 |   |   | none (definition) | BRFSS | fmd_days |
| definition used in this chapter, not an estimate | the BRFSS mental health question | 2014 to 2024 | 30 |   |   | none (definition) | BRFSS | recall_days |
| definition used in this chapter, not an estimate | an age group of respondents defined in this chapter | 2014 to 2024 | 50 to 64 |   |   | none (definition) | BRFSS | band_mid |
| design-based difference in weighted shares between two groups of one survey, interval from Taylor linearization, adults 18 to 24 minus adults 50 to 64 | adults 18 to 24 and adults 50 to 64 in the 50 states and DC | 2014 | −0.2 | 95% CI −1.0 to 0.5 | 164,132 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS | gap_ym_2014 |
| design-based difference in weighted shares between two groups of one survey, interval from Taylor linearization, adults 18 to 24 minus adults 50 to 64 | adults 18 to 24 and adults 50 to 64 in the 50 states and DC | 2022 | +11.6 | 95% CI 10.6 to 12.6 | 136,149 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS | gap_ym_2022 |
| design-based difference in weighted shares between two groups of one survey, interval from Taylor linearization, adults 18 to 24 minus adults 50 to 64 | adults 18 to 24 and adults 50 to 64 in the 50 states and DC | 2024 | +7.4 | 95% CI 6.4 to 8.4 | 134,822 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS | gap_ym_2024 |

## Findings

The share of adults 18 to 24 who reported frequent mental distress rose from 12.3% (95% CI 11.6% to 13.0%) in 2014 to 25.3% (95% CI 24.4% to 26.2%) in 2022 in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), an annual telephone survey run by the CDC with state health departments. Frequent mental distress means 14 or more of the past 30 days on which the respondent's mental health was not good. In 2014 the rate for these adults differed from that for adults 50 to 64 by −0.2 (95% CI −1.0 to 0.5) points, an interval that includes zero. In 2022 the difference was +11.6 (95% CI 10.6 to 12.6) points. By 2024 the rate for adults 18 to 24 had fallen to 21.8% (95% CI 20.9% to 22.7%), and the difference from adults 50 to 64 was +7.4 (95% CI 6.4 to 8.4) points.

The chapter describes respondents, and every rate is an estimate for adults living in a state or the District of Columbia. The BRFSS draws a new sample each year, so it is a repeated cross-section and not a panel. The youngest adults of 2022 are not the people interviewed in 2014 at an earlier age. Rates of frequent mental distress for places, which come from modeled estimates for census tracts, belong to Chapter 7.1, Health behaviors and the supply of care (https://vishalsingh.org/zipcode/health-behaviors-and-the-supply-of-care). How people rate their lives and describe their days is in Chapter 6.3, Life evaluation and daily feelings (https://vishalsingh.org/zipcode/life-evaluation-and-daily-feelings), and how well-being changes over the life span is in Chapter 6.4, Well-being across the life span (https://vishalsingh.org/zipcode/well-being-across-the-life-span).

### What the survey asks and how it is weighted

Respondents are asked how many of the past 30 days their mental health, which includes stress, depression and problems with emotions, was not good.[1] An answer of none counts as zero days, and a respondent who does not know or refuses is left out (1.8% of respondents). The cutoff of 14 or more days is the CDC's definition of frequent mental distress.[2] The measure is what a person says about the past month. It is not a diagnosis, and a rise in it can reflect more distress, more willingness to describe it, or both. A second item asks whether a doctor, nurse or other health professional has ever told the respondent of a depressive disorder.[1] The file has answers to both items in every year from 2014 to 2024.

The file holds 4,874,919 respondent records for 2014 to 2024, 4,790,742 of them in a state or the District of Columbia. Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are left out, as in Chapter 7.2, Health behaviors, person by person (https://vishalsingh.org/zipcode/health-behaviors-person-by-person), so that the two BRFSS chapters describe the same adults. 4,626,736 respondents have both a valid answer to the distress question and an age group.

Every estimate is design-based. It uses the survey weights (the final weight), the strata and the sampling units of the public file, with variances from Taylor linearization,[3] and a subgroup is treated as part of the whole sample so that no cell loses the design it belongs to. Intervals are 95% intervals. The weights spread the sample unevenly. The 79,822 respondents 18 to 24 in 2022 to 2024 carry the information of 24,390 respondents with equal weights, and the intervals reflect that loss. A difference between two groups in one period accounts for the groups sharing one design. A difference between two periods combines two independent estimates, because each survey year is drawn separately.

Not every state is present in every year. In this file New Jersey is missing in 2019, Florida in 2021, and Kentucky and Pennsylvania in 2023, and CDC reports that Tennessee could not collect enough data to be included in the 2024 public file.[4] Limiting every estimate to the 46 jurisdictions (states and the District of Columbia) present in all years moves no age-by-year estimate by more than 0.5 points, so the national series is not an artifact of which states are missing. The BRFSS has used raking and included cell phone respondents since 2011, and every year in this file follows that method, so the series does not cross the 2011 change in weighting.[4]

### Frequent distress was level across adult ages in 2014 and now falls with age

Table 1 plots the rate for six age groups. In 2014 the four younger groups lay within 0.3 points of one another, from adults 18 to 24 to adults 50 to 64, while adults 65 to 74 and 75 and older were lower. By 2024 the four were spread out, from 21.8% for adults 18 to 24 to 14.4% for adults 50 to 64.

Table 1. Frequent mental distress among adults 18 to 24 rose from 12.3% in 2014 to 25.3% in 2022, while the rate for adults 50 to 64 moved from 12.5% to 13.8%

Every group's rate was higher in 2024 than in 2014, and the rise was larger for the younger groups. It was 9.5 (95% CI 8.4 to 10.6) points for adults 18 to 24 and 7.7 (95% CI 6.8 to 8.6) for adults 25 to 34, against 1.9 (95% CI 1.3 to 2.5) for adults 50 to 64. For adults 75 and older it was 1.0 (95% CI 0.3 to 1.6), from 6.5% (95% CI 6.1% to 7.0%) to 7.5% (95% CI 7.1% to 8.0%).

Taken together, adults went from 11.4% (95% CI 11.2% to 11.6%) in 2014 to 15.8% (95% CI 15.5% to 16.0%) in 2022 and 15.6% (95% CI 15.3% to 15.8%) in 2024.

The path for the youngest group is not smooth. Its rate peaked in 2022 and was 3.5 (95% CI 2.3 to 4.8) points lower in 2024 than in 2022, while the rate for adults 35 to 49 was 0.9 (95% CI 0.2 to 1.6) points higher. In 2020, the first pandemic year, the rate for adults 18 to 24 was 1.5 (95% CI 0.2 to 2.8) points lower than in 2019, and no other age group has a lower rate in 2020 by an amount the survey can distinguish from zero. The data do not say why 2020 differs. Interviews that year took place under unusual conditions, and a fall in a self-reported measure could come from who answered as well as from how respondents felt.

Table 2 tests the comparison directly, as the difference between the rate for adults 18 to 24 and the rate for adults 50 to 64 in each year. The rate for the older group went from 12.5% in 2014 to 13.8% in 2022.

The difference was −0.2 (95% CI −1.0 to 0.5) points in 2014. The interval first lies above zero in 2015, at +0.9 (95% CI 0.1 to 1.7) points, where it only just clears zero, and it stays above zero in every later year. The difference reached +11.6 (95% CI 10.6 to 12.6) points in 2022 and narrowed to +7.4 (95% CI 6.4 to 8.4) in 2024.

Table 2. The difference in frequent distress between adults 18 to 24 and adults 50 to 64 went from −0.2 points in 2014 to +11.6 points in 2022

Table 3 shows the same change as a profile across age. In 2014 to 2016 the rate in every five-year band from the youngest through the late fifties lay between 11.7% and 13.3%, and it fell only in the sixties, to 6.4% (95% CI 6.1% to 6.7%) in the oldest band.

In 2022 to 2024 the rate was 23.4% (95% CI 22.9% to 23.9%) in the youngest band, against 13.3% (95% CI 12.9% to 13.7%) in 2014 to 2016. It then falls with age, with a flat stretch through the fifties near 14.7% (95% CI 14.2% to 15.2%), to 7.1% (95% CI 6.7% to 7.5%) in the oldest band, a small distance above that band's earlier level. The profile for 2017 to 2019 lies between the other two in every band.

Table 3. Frequent distress was close to flat from the youngest band to the late fifties in 2014 to 2016 and falls with age in 2022 to 2024

Two other studies bear on this. Blanchflower, Bryson and Xu report, from repeated cross-sections for the United States and the United Kingdom and from a survey of many countries, that ill-being used to peak in midlife and now declines steadily with age. Their US analysis uses the BRFSS itself, so for the United States it repeats this chapter's source and is not an independent check.[5] Twenge and colleagues used the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, a different survey and measure, and found that the share of young adults with a major depressive episode in the past year rose between 2009 and 2017. Their models attributed the adult trends mainly to birth cohort, and the study does not describe an age profile like the one above.[6] A repeated cross-section like the BRFSS cannot separate age, survey year and birth cohort without extra assumptions, and this chapter makes none. It reports how the age profile of one self-reported measure looked in each period.

### Women report more frequent distress than men at every age

Table 4 shows the rate for women minus the rate for men in two periods. The difference lies above zero in every age group in both periods. The difference rose most among adults 18 to 24. In 2014 to 2016 women in that group reported 16.2% and men 10.6%, a difference of 5.5 (95% CI 4.7 to 6.3) points.

In 2022 to 2024 the rates for adults in that group were 29.0% and 18.1%, a difference of 10.8 (95% CI 9.8 to 11.9) points, so the difference itself rose by 5.3 (95% CI 4.0 to 6.7) points.

Among adults 25 to 34 the difference rose by 2.7 (95% CI 1.7 to 3.7) points. Among adults 50 to 64 it went from 4.2 (95% CI 3.8 to 4.6) to 5.2 (95% CI 4.7 to 5.8), a rise of 1.0 (95% CI 0.4 to 1.7) points.

Table 4. Women reported frequent distress more often than men in every age group, and the gap among adults 18 to 24 rose from 5.5 to 10.8 points

The survey's sex item changed over these years. In the early questionnaires sex could be filled in at screening or recorded by the interviewer, later questionnaires ask whether the respondent is male or female at screening, and the latest add a question on sex at birth. The chapter calls the groups women and men as the survey codes them, so the change in a gap between 2014 to 2016 and 2022 to 2024 compares groups defined slightly differently.

The distress item records what respondents say, and the data do not show whether the difference between women and men reflects different experience, different willingness to report, or both. They show that the difference exists at every age and that it grew fastest where the overall rise was largest.

### The rise among the youngest adults reached every sex, income and education group

Among adults 18 to 24 as a whole, the rate went from 13.3% (95% CI 12.9% to 13.7%) in 2014 to 2016 to 23.4% (95% CI 22.9% to 23.9%) in 2022 to 2024, a rise of 10.1 (95% CI 9.4 to 10.8) points. Table 5 splits that rise by sex, household income, education and metro status. The rise has an interval above zero in each group defined by sex, household income or education.

Table 5. Frequent distress among adults 18 to 24 rose from 13.3% to 23.4%, and rose in every group by sex, household income and education

Women rose by 12.8 (95% CI 11.8 to 13.9) points and men by 7.5 (95% CI 6.7 to 8.3) points, and the rise for women exceeded the rise for men by 5.3 (95% CI 4.0 to 6.7) points.

By household income the second bracket rose by 15.1 (95% CI 13.5 to 16.8) points and the lowest by 8.8 (95% CI 6.8 to 10.9), and the second bracket's rise exceeded the lowest bracket's by 6.3 (95% CI 3.7 to 9.0) points. The top bracket, $75,000 or more, rose by 9.5 (95% CI 8.0 to 11.0) points, and its rise differs from the lowest bracket's by 0.7 (95% CI −1.8 to 3.2) points, an interval that includes zero. The differences among the other brackets are not tested here.

In 2022 to 2024, young adults in households at the top bracket reported 21.1% (95% CI 20.0% to 22.2%), a higher rate than young adults in households below $20,000 had reported in 2014 to 2016, 16.9% (95% CI 16.0% to 17.9%). Household income counts everyone in the household, so for an adult living with parents it describes the parents' means more than the respondent's own.

By education, college graduates went from 8.9% (95% CI 8.3% to 9.7%) to 18.6% (95% CI 17.6% to 19.6%), a rise of 9.7 (95% CI 8.4 to 10.9) points. Respondents who had not finished high school went from 17.3% (95% CI 15.9% to 18.8%) to 23.8% (95% CI 22.0% to 25.7%), a rise of 6.5 (95% CI 4.2 to 8.9) points. Education is the highest level completed, and many adults 18 to 24 are still in school, so these groups describe where respondents are in their schooling as much as their attainment.

The survey cannot say much about metro status. The BRFSS codes it for only part of the respondents, and the share falls from 38.7% of adults in 2014 to 2016 to 11.4% in 2022 to 2024.

The recent metro-status groups of adults 18 to 24 hold 103 to 384 respondents each, and the intervals for their rises are between 12.6 and 31.9 points wide. The interval lies above zero for one of the four.

The respondents with a metro code had a rate of 20.6% (95% CI 16.2% to 25.9%) in 2022 to 2024, and the interval includes the 23.4% for all adults 18 to 24. The data therefore show no clear difference between them and the rest, though the interval is too wide to rule one out. The data support no ranking of center cities, suburbs and areas outside metro areas, and they do not rule out differences among them.

> Causal evidence: Social media and the mental health of college students (Staggered difference-in-differences across colleges (natural experiment))
>
> The BRFSS comparisons above have no before and after for any respondent and no comparison group that changed for a known reason, so they cannot say why distress rose. One study that does have such a design is by Braghieri, Levy and Makarin. Facebook was introduced at US colleges in stages between 2004 and 2006, so students at colleges that received it earlier can be compared before and after with students at colleges that received it later. Using survey data on student mental health, the authors found that the introduction of Facebook at a college worsened student mental health and raised the likelihood that students reported poor mental health impairing their academic performance.[7]
>
> The result applies to college students in the first years of one platform. It does not cover the platforms, the age groups, the years or the pandemic that mark the 2014 to 2024 changes above, and it does not test the BRFSS rise.

### Household income separates middle-aged adults more than the youngest adults

Table 6 crosses age group with household income in 2022 to 2024. Among adults 50 to 64, 31.7% (95% CI 30.5% to 32.9%) in the lowest income bracket reported frequent distress against 8.0% (95% CI 7.7% to 8.3%) in the top bracket, a difference of 23.7 (95% CI 22.5 to 24.9) points. Among adults 18 to 24 the rates were 25.7% (95% CI 24.0% to 27.6%) and 21.1% (95% CI 20.0% to 22.2%), a difference of 4.7 (95% CI 2.6 to 6.8) points.

The highest cell in the grid, 32.9% (95% CI 31.3% to 34.5%), is for adults 35 to 49 in the lowest bracket, and its interval overlaps that of adults 50 to 64 in the same bracket, 31.7% (95% CI 30.5% to 32.9%). The cell for the youngest adults in that bracket is lower than both.

Table 6. Frequent distress among adults 18 to 24 was 25.7% in the lowest household income bracket and 21.1% in the top, against 31.7% and 8.0% among adults 50 to 64

The age pattern therefore depends on income. In the top bracket, adults 18 to 24 exceeded adults 50 to 64 by +13.0 (95% CI 11.9 to 14.2) points, and they were also higher in the three brackets between the top and the lowest. In the lowest bracket the sign reversed, at −6.0 (95% CI −8.1 to −3.8) points, so the youngest adults reported less frequent distress than adults 50 to 64 in households of the same bracket.

The difference between the lowest and the top bracket rises across the younger age groups, from 4.7 points for adults 18 to 24 to 11.5 (95% CI 9.7 to 13.2) for adults 25 to 34 and 21.0 (95% CI 19.4 to 22.6) for adults 35 to 49. It is similar for adults 50 to 64 and smaller among adults 65 to 74 and 75 and older.

Across all ages, the lowest bracket reported 26.9% (95% CI 26.3% to 27.6%) and the top bracket 11.1% (95% CI 10.9% to 11.3%). For a respondent who lives with parents, household income describes the parents' means.

In 2022 to 2024 household income is missing for 22.1% of adults and 32.8% of adults 18 to 24. Adults who did not report it had a rate of 14.9% (95% CI 14.6% to 15.2%) in those years, against 15.8% (95% CI 15.7% to 16.0%) for those who did, so leaving them out does not hide a group with higher rates. The brackets are in current dollars, so rising prices move households across them over the period.

### Current distress and a depression diagnosis

A rise in a self-reported item may partly reflect how people answer, which a more concrete item can help to check. Table 7 sets frequent distress beside whether a health professional has ever told the respondent of a depressive disorder. The diagnosis share is higher than the distress share at every age in both periods. In 2022 to 2024 the diagnosis share for adults 18 to 24 was 25.6% (95% CI 25.1% to 26.1%) against 23.4% with frequent distress.

Among respondents who answered both items the difference was 2.4 (95% CI 1.8 to 3.0) points, a little different from the difference of the two shares because each share covers everyone who answered that item. For adults 18 to 24 the difference was 2.2 (95% CI 1.7 to 2.7) points in 2014 to 2016. In 2022 to 2024 it was 2.8 (95% CI 2.3 to 3.3) points in the oldest band and larger in between, for example 7.6 (95% CI 7.1 to 8.1) points at ages 65 to 69, so the two measures are closest at the youngest and oldest ages.

Table 7. In 2022 to 2024 the share of adults 18 to 24 ever told of depression was 25.6%, close to the 23.4% with frequent distress now

The diagnosis share for the youngest adults rose by 10.1 (95% CI 9.4 to 10.7) points between 2014 to 2016 and 2022 to 2024, close to the 10.1 points by which frequent distress rose. The shape across age changed as well. In 2014 to 2016 the diagnosis share rose with age from 15.5% (95% CI 15.1% to 16.0%) among the youngest adults to 21.2% (95% CI 20.8% to 21.6%) at ages 55 to 59, as an accumulating count of lifetime diagnoses would.

In 2022 to 2024 it was 25.6% among the youngest and 20.7% (95% CI 20.2% to 21.2%) at ages 55 to 59, so the youngest adults now have a diagnosis share among the highest of any age band. The difference from adults 25 to 29 is +0.3 (95% CI −0.5 to 1.1) points and from adults 30 to 34 +0.7 (95% CI −0.1 to 1.5) points, neither distinguishable from zero. The youngest adults exceed every band from the late thirties upward.

A diagnosis depends on contact with care, which differs by age, insurance and period, so the second measure is not a cleaner gauge of illness. It does show that the change is not confined to one survey question, because a different item with a different time frame moves in the same direction for the same adults.

### What these data cannot show

The BRFSS is a repeated cross-section. The youngest adults in 2022 are a different set of people from those in 2014, and the data cannot separate age, survey year and birth cohort. They also cannot say whether a fall from 2022 to 2024 will continue.

Frequent mental distress is self-reported. It reflects how respondents experience the past month and how willing they are to say so, and willingness may have changed more among the young than among the old. The BRFSS reaches adults who live in households and answer a telephone call, so it misses people in hospitals, prisons and other institutions and people without a stable phone, and nonresponse can change over time in ways the weights may not fully correct. The state of residence is known and no smaller area is, so nothing here describes a neighborhood or a county.

Several comparisons rest on thin or imperfect measures. Household income is missing for a large part of the youngest adults and describes a household, not the respondent. Education among adults 18 to 24 is unfinished. Metro status is coded for a shrinking part of the sample, and the sex item changed wording over the period. The 2020 and 2021 interviews took place during the pandemic and are shown by year but left out of the three periods. Some states are absent in some years. Intervals describe sampling variation under the survey design and do not carry any bias from nonresponse or measurement.

The chapter makes no causal claim outside the study in the box above. Differences between groups, such as the difference between women and men or between income brackets, are patterns in who reports distress, and the data do not identify what produces them.

## Tables

### Table 1. Frequent mental distress among adults 18 to 24 rose from 12.3% in 2014 to 25.3% in 2022, while the rate for adults 50 to 64 moved from 12.5% to 13.8%

Adults reporting 14 or more of the past 30 days with mental health not good, percent, by age group and survey year, 50 states and DC, 2014 to 2024

| age_group | conf_high | conf_low | n | rate | year |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| 18 to 24 | 13.02 | 11.63 | 23,152 | 12.31 | 2014 |
| 25 to 34 | 13.14 | 12.02 | 41,901 | 12.57 | 2014 |
| 35 to 49 | 12.73 | 11.87 | 83,788 | 12.29 | 2014 |
| 50 to 64 | 12.89 | 12.19 | 140,980 | 12.53 | 2014 |
| 65 to 74 | 8.46 | 7.66 | 87,891 | 8.05 | 2014 |
| 75 and older | 6.97 | 6.14 | 65,066 | 6.54 | 2014 |
| 18 to 24 | 13.94 | 12.50 | 23,237 | 13.20 | 2015 |
| 25 to 34 | 12.85 | 11.76 | 41,226 | 12.29 | 2015 |
| 35 to 49 | 12.83 | 12.01 | 78,275 | 12.41 | 2015 |
| 50 to 64 | 12.69 | 11.99 | 131,942 | 12.34 | 2015 |
| 65 to 74 | 8.29 | 7.53 | 85,003 | 7.90 | 2015 |
| 75 and older | 7.16 | 6.28 | 62,287 | 6.71 | 2015 |
| 18 to 24 | 15.19 | 13.78 | 25,698 | 14.47 | 2016 |
| 25 to 34 | 13.36 | 12.34 | 46,871 | 12.84 | 2016 |
| 35 to 49 | 12.63 | 11.81 | 84,600 | 12.21 | 2016 |
| 50 to 64 | 12.91 | 12.18 | 141,807 | 12.54 | 2016 |
| 65 to 74 | 8.24 | 7.50 | 96,271 | 7.86 | 2016 |
| 75 and older | 7.03 | 6.11 | 68,252 | 6.56 | 2016 |
| 18 to 24 | 17.36 | 15.73 | 25,372 | 16.53 | 2017 |
| 25 to 34 | 14.13 | 13.06 | 45,868 | 13.59 | 2017 |
| 35 to 49 | 13.43 | 12.50 | 79,509 | 12.96 | 2017 |
| 50 to 64 | 13.20 | 12.40 | 128,729 | 12.79 | 2017 |
| 65 to 74 | 8.99 | 8.11 | 88,940 | 8.54 | 2017 |
| 75 and older | 7.44 | 6.35 | 62,621 | 6.88 | 2017 |
| 18 to 24 | 18.69 | 17.11 | 25,142 | 17.89 | 2018 |
| 25 to 34 | 15.75 | 14.59 | 45,106 | 15.16 | 2018 |
| 35 to 49 | 13.06 | 12.20 | 78,100 | 12.62 | 2018 |
| 50 to 64 | 13.19 | 12.39 | 120,693 | 12.78 | 2018 |
| 65 to 74 | 9.04 | 8.20 | 85,844 | 8.61 | 2018 |
| 75 and older | 7.31 | 6.28 | 61,123 | 6.78 | 2018 |
| 18 to 24 | 21.36 | 19.62 | 24,005 | 20.47 | 2019 |
| 25 to 34 | 17.05 | 15.87 | 41,979 | 16.45 | 2019 |
| 35 to 49 | 14.12 | 13.20 | 71,943 | 13.65 | 2019 |
| 50 to 64 | 13.43 | 12.63 | 110,630 | 13.03 | 2019 |
| 65 to 74 | 9.57 | 8.67 | 83,604 | 9.11 | 2019 |
| 75 and older | 7.15 | 6.32 | 62,675 | 6.72 | 2019 |
| 18 to 24 | 19.92 | 18.08 | 24,611 | 18.98 | 2020 |
| 25 to 34 | 17.37 | 16.05 | 42,467 | 16.70 | 2020 |
| 35 to 49 | 14.85 | 13.80 | 74,669 | 14.31 | 2020 |
| 50 to 64 | 13.29 | 12.29 | 104,594 | 12.78 | 2020 |
| 65 to 74 | 9.27 | 8.29 | 76,936 | 8.77 | 2020 |
| 75 and older | 7.85 | 6.55 | 55,856 | 7.17 | 2020 |
| 18 to 24 | 23.54 | 21.71 | 25,110 | 22.61 | 2021 |
| 25 to 34 | 18.98 | 17.69 | 45,683 | 18.33 | 2021 |
| 35 to 49 | 15.88 | 14.82 | 83,630 | 15.34 | 2021 |
| 50 to 64 | 13.91 | 13.05 | 112,559 | 13.47 | 2021 |
| 65 to 74 | 9.48 | 8.46 | 85,976 | 8.96 | 2021 |
| 75 and older | 8.55 | 7.39 | 61,800 | 7.95 | 2021 |
| 18 to 24 | 26.23 | 24.42 | 25,815 | 25.32 | 2022 |
| 25 to 34 | 20.91 | 19.60 | 45,803 | 20.25 | 2022 |
| 35 to 49 | 16.77 | 15.83 | 83,622 | 16.30 | 2022 |
| 50 to 64 | 14.19 | 13.33 | 110,334 | 13.75 | 2022 |
| 65 to 74 | 10.66 | 9.69 | 87,158 | 10.17 | 2022 |
| 75 and older | 8.75 | 7.66 | 65,683 | 8.19 | 2022 |
| 18 to 24 | 24.19 | 22.32 | 25,296 | 23.24 | 2023 |
| 25 to 34 | 21.39 | 19.98 | 44,320 | 20.67 | 2023 |
| 35 to 49 | 17.38 | 16.27 | 79,779 | 16.82 | 2023 |
| 50 to 64 | 14.30 | 13.37 | 103,393 | 13.83 | 2023 |
| 65 to 74 | 9.99 | 8.98 | 86,587 | 9.47 | 2023 |
| 75 and older | 8.17 | 7.24 | 70,449 | 7.69 | 2023 |
| 18 to 24 | 22.65 | 20.95 | 28,711 | 21.79 | 2024 |
| 25 to 34 | 21 | 19.62 | 48,280 | 20.30 | 2024 |
| 35 to 49 | 17.76 | 16.73 | 85,851 | 17.24 | 2024 |
| 50 to 64 | 14.89 | 13.94 | 106,111 | 14.41 | 2024 |
| 65 to 74 | 10.05 | 9.15 | 89,682 | 9.59 | 2024 |
| 75 and older | 8.01 | 7.05 | 75,841 | 7.52 | 2024 |

Note: Respondents are adults in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Each survey year is a new sample, not the same people followed over time, and every interval is design-based (final weight, stratum and primary sampling unit).

Note: Some states are missing in some years: New Jersey in 2019, Florida in 2021, Kentucky and Pennsylvania in 2023 and Tennessee in 2024. Restricting every estimate to the 46 jurisdictions present in every year moves no age-by-year estimate by more than 0.5 points.

Note: Interviews in 2020 took place during the first year of the pandemic.

Source: CDC BRFSS, 2014-2024, adults in the 50 states and DC; weighted (BRFSS final weight), design-based intervals

Data: https://vishalsingh.org/zipcode/report/mental-distress-in-young-adults/figures/fmd_by_year_age.json

### Table 2. The difference in frequent distress between adults 18 to 24 and adults 50 to 64 went from −0.2 points in 2014 to +11.6 points in 2022

Rate for adults 18 to 24 minus rate for adults 50 to 64, percentage points, design-based difference by survey year, 50 states and DC, 2014 to 2024

| conf_high | conf_low | gap | n | year |
| ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| 0.550 | −1 | −0.230 | 164,132 | 2014 |
| 1.67 | 0.070 | 0.870 | 155,179 | 2015 |
| 2.73 | 1.14 | 1.93 | 167,505 | 2016 |
| 4.65 | 2.83 | 3.74 | 154,101 | 2017 |
| 5.99 | 4.22 | 5.11 | 145,835 | 2018 |
| 8.40 | 6.49 | 7.45 | 134,635 | 2019 |
| 7.25 | 5.15 | 6.20 | 129,205 | 2020 |
| 10.15 | 8.13 | 9.14 | 137,669 | 2021 |
| 12.56 | 10.56 | 11.56 | 136,149 | 2022 |
| 10.45 | 8.36 | 9.41 | 128,689 | 2023 |
| 8.36 | 6.41 | 7.38 | 134,822 | 2024 |

Source: CDC BRFSS, 2014-2024, adults in the 50 states and DC; weighted (BRFSS final weight), design-based intervals

Data: https://vishalsingh.org/zipcode/report/mental-distress-in-young-adults/figures/young_minus_midlife.json

### Table 3. Frequent distress was close to flat from the youngest band to the late fifties in 2014 to 2016 and falls with age in 2022 to 2024

Adults reporting 14 or more of the past 30 days with mental health not good, percent, by five-year age band, three periods of three survey years, 50 states and DC

| age_band | age_lower | conf_high | conf_low | n | period_label | rate |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | --- | ---: |
| 18 to 24 | 18 | 13.74 | 12.93 | 72,087 | 2014 to 2016 | 13.33 |
| 25 to 29 | 25 | 13.32 | 12.40 | 60,352 | 2014 to 2016 | 12.85 |
| 30 to 34 | 30 | 12.73 | 11.90 | 69,646 | 2014 to 2016 | 12.31 |
| 35 to 39 | 35 | 12.13 | 11.31 | 74,688 | 2014 to 2016 | 11.71 |
| 40 to 44 | 40 | 12.82 | 11.98 | 79,127 | 2014 to 2016 | 12.40 |
| 45 to 49 | 45 | 13.26 | 12.42 | 92,848 | 2014 to 2016 | 12.83 |
| 50 to 54 | 50 | 13.46 | 12.75 | 121,236 | 2014 to 2016 | 13.10 |
| 55 to 59 | 55 | 13.27 | 12.57 | 141,051 | 2014 to 2016 | 12.92 |
| 60 to 64 | 60 | 11.63 | 10.93 | 152,442 | 2014 to 2016 | 11.28 |
| 65 to 69 | 65 | 8.84 | 8.23 | 151,105 | 2014 to 2016 | 8.53 |
| 70 to 74 | 70 | 7.48 | 6.84 | 118,060 | 2014 to 2016 | 7.15 |
| 75 to 79 | 75 | 7.24 | 6.46 | 85,601 | 2014 to 2016 | 6.84 |
| 80 and older | 80 | 6.72 | 6.07 | 110,004 | 2014 to 2016 | 6.39 |
| 18 to 24 | 18 | 23.95 | 22.91 | 79,822 | 2022 to 2024 | 23.43 |
| 25 to 29 | 25 | 21.84 | 20.66 | 64,452 | 2022 to 2024 | 21.24 |
| 30 to 34 | 30 | 20.25 | 19.18 | 73,951 | 2022 to 2024 | 19.71 |
| 35 to 39 | 35 | 18.24 | 17.23 | 81,594 | 2022 to 2024 | 17.73 |
| 40 to 44 | 40 | 16.99 | 16.02 | 86,224 | 2022 to 2024 | 16.50 |
| 45 to 49 | 45 | 16.64 | 15.50 | 81,434 | 2022 to 2024 | 16.06 |
| 50 to 54 | 50 | 15.19 | 14.23 | 92,862 | 2022 to 2024 | 14.71 |
| 55 to 59 | 55 | 15.20 | 14.23 | 101,915 | 2022 to 2024 | 14.71 |
| 60 to 64 | 60 | 13.16 | 12.35 | 125,061 | 2022 to 2024 | 12.75 |
| 65 to 69 | 65 | 10.44 | 9.68 | 136,072 | 2022 to 2024 | 10.05 |
| 70 to 74 | 70 | 9.82 | 9.01 | 127,355 | 2022 to 2024 | 9.41 |
| 75 to 79 | 75 | 9.04 | 8.22 | 100,143 | 2022 to 2024 | 8.62 |
| 80 and older | 80 | 7.47 | 6.66 | 111,830 | 2022 to 2024 | 7.05 |
| 18 to 24 | 18 | 18.75 | 17.80 | 74,519 | 2017 to 2019 | 18.27 |
| 25 to 29 | 25 | 16.28 | 15.31 | 63,191 | 2017 to 2019 | 15.79 |
| 30 to 34 | 30 | 14.88 | 13.98 | 69,762 | 2017 to 2019 | 14.43 |
| 35 to 39 | 35 | 13.63 | 12.75 | 74,577 | 2017 to 2019 | 13.19 |
| 40 to 44 | 40 | 13.31 | 12.38 | 72,712 | 2017 to 2019 | 12.84 |
| 45 to 49 | 45 | 13.67 | 12.77 | 82,263 | 2017 to 2019 | 13.21 |
| 50 to 54 | 50 | 13.58 | 12.76 | 100,551 | 2017 to 2019 | 13.17 |
| 55 to 59 | 55 | 14.03 | 13.21 | 122,243 | 2017 to 2019 | 13.61 |
| 60 to 64 | 60 | 12.25 | 11.46 | 137,258 | 2017 to 2019 | 11.85 |
| 65 to 69 | 65 | 9.81 | 9.09 | 138,341 | 2017 to 2019 | 9.44 |
| 70 to 74 | 70 | 8.30 | 7.60 | 120,047 | 2017 to 2019 | 7.94 |
| 75 to 79 | 75 | 7.33 | 6.57 | 84,547 | 2017 to 2019 | 6.94 |
| 80 and older | 80 | 7.09 | 6.26 | 101,872 | 2017 to 2019 | 6.66 |

Note: Each band is plotted at its lowest age: 18 stands for ages 18 to 24, 25 for 25 to 29, and so on, and 80 for 80 and older.

Source: CDC BRFSS, 2014-2019 and 2022-2024, adults in the 50 states and DC; weighted (BRFSS final weight), design-based intervals

Data: https://vishalsingh.org/zipcode/report/mental-distress-in-young-adults/figures/fmd_age_profile.json

### Table 4. Women reported frequent distress more often than men in every age group, and the gap among adults 18 to 24 rose from 5.5 to 10.8 points

Rate for women minus rate for men, percentage points, by age group, 2014 to 2016 and 2022 to 2024, 50 states and DC

| Age group | Women, 2014 to 2016 (%) | Men, 2014 to 2016 (%) | Gap, 2014 to 2016 (points) | Women, 2022 to 2024 (%) | Men, 2022 to 2024 (%) | Gap, 2022 to 2024 (points) | Change in the gap (points) | Change, lower limit | Change, upper limit | Respondents, 2014 to 2016 | Respondents, 2022 to 2024 |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| 18 to 24 | 16.2 | 10.6 | 5.5 | 29.0 | 18.1 | 10.8 | 5.3 | 4.0 | 6.7 | 72,079 | 79,822 |
| 25 to 34 | 14.3 | 10.9 | 3.4 | 23.5 | 17.4 | 6.1 | 2.7 | 1.7 | 3.7 | 129,987 | 138,403 |
| 35 to 49 | 14.4 | 10.2 | 4.3 | 19.3 | 14.2 | 5.1 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 1.6 | 246,657 | 249,252 |
| 50 to 64 | 14.5 | 10.3 | 4.2 | 16.6 | 11.3 | 5.2 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 1.7 | 414,725 | 319,838 |
| 65 to 74 | 9.2 | 6.6 | 2.6 | 11.5 | 7.7 | 3.8 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 1.9 | 269,158 | 263,427 |
| 75 and older | 7.3 | 5.6 | 1.7 | 8.7 | 6.5 | 2.3 | 0.5 | −0.2 | 1.3 | 195,599 | 211,973 |

Note: The rates behind each gap, and the change in the gap with its interval, are in the data table. The two periods are different survey years, so the change in the gap combines two independent estimates.

Note: The survey's sex item changed over the period: in the early questionnaires sex could be filled in at screening or recorded by the interviewer, later questionnaires ask whether the respondent is male or female at screening, and the latest add a question on sex at birth. The groups are labeled women and men as the survey codes them, so the change in a gap compares groups defined slightly differently.

Source: CDC BRFSS, 2014-2016 and 2022-2024, adults in the 50 states and DC; weighted (BRFSS final weight), design-based intervals

Data: https://vishalsingh.org/zipcode/report/mental-distress-in-young-adults/figures/sex_gap_by_age.json

### Table 5. Frequent distress among adults 18 to 24 rose from 13.3% to 23.4%, and rose in every group by sex, household income and education

Adults 18 to 24 reporting 14 or more of the past 30 days with mental health not good, percent, 2014 to 2016 and 2022 to 2024, by group, 50 states and DC

| Dimension | Group | 2014 to 2016 (%) | 2022 to 2024 (%) | Rise (points) | Rise, lower limit | Rise, upper limit | Respondents, 2014 to 2016 | Respondents, 2022 to 2024 |
| --- | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| All | All adults 18 to 24 | 13.3 | 23.4 | 10.1 | 9.4 | 10.8 | 72,087 | 79,822 |
| Sex | Men | 10.7 | 18.1 | 7.5 | 6.7 | 8.3 | 37,580 | 45,502 |
| Sex | Women | 16.2 | 29.0 | 12.8 | 11.8 | 13.9 | 34,499 | 34,320 |
| Household income | Under $20,000 | 16.9 | 25.7 | 8.8 | 6.8 | 10.9 | 13,932 | 6,442 |
| Household income | $20,000 to $34,999 | 13.2 | 28.4 | 15.1 | 13.5 | 16.8 | 13,656 | 12,185 |
| Household income | $35,000 to $49,999 | 11.7 | 24.4 | 12.7 | 10.8 | 14.6 | 7,745 | 9,476 |
| Household income | $50,000 to $74,999 | 11.9 | 21.9 | 10.0 | 8.0 | 11.9 | 6,523 | 9,518 |
| Household income | $75,000 or more | 11.6 | 21.1 | 9.5 | 8.0 | 11.0 | 11,152 | 17,893 |
| Education | Did not finish high school | 17.3 | 23.8 | 6.5 | 4.2 | 8.9 | 5,549 | 5,785 |
| Education | High school graduate | 13.4 | 24.1 | 10.6 | 9.6 | 11.7 | 26,802 | 34,737 |
| Education | Some college or technical school | 13.3 | 24.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 12.3 | 27,183 | 23,430 |
| Education | College graduate | 8.9 | 18.6 | 9.7 | 8.4 | 10.9 | 12,255 | 15,515 |
| Metro status (respondents with a code) | Center city of a metro area | 12.1 | 16.3 | 4.2 | −2.1 | 10.5 | 4,713 | 295 |
| Metro status (respondents with a code) | Outside the center city, in its county | 15.1 | 25.6 | 10.5 | −5.4 | 26.5 | 2,311 | 103 |
| Metro status (respondents with a code) | Suburban county of a metro area | 12.3 | 19.6 | 7.2 | −2.5 | 16.9 | 1,592 | 160 |
| Metro status (respondents with a code) | Not in a metro area | 13.4 | 22.9 | 9.5 | 1.2 | 17.8 | 3,958 | 384 |

Note: Respondents are adults in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Each survey year is a new sample, not the same people followed over time, and every interval is design-based (final weight, stratum and primary sampling unit).

Note: Household income brackets are in current dollars and are not adjusted for prices. Education is the highest level completed, so adults 18 to 24 are at different stages of schooling. Household income and education are missing for some respondents, who are left out of those rows.

Note: Metro status is coded for only part of the respondents, and the share falls over time: 38.7% of adults in 2014 to 2016 and 11.4% in 2022 to 2024. The recent metro-status rows rest on 103 to 384 respondents each.

Source: CDC BRFSS, 2014-2016 and 2022-2024, adults in the 50 states and DC; weighted (BRFSS final weight), design-based intervals

Data: https://vishalsingh.org/zipcode/report/mental-distress-in-young-adults/figures/young_rise_by_group.json

### Table 6. Frequent distress among adults 18 to 24 was 25.7% in the lowest household income bracket and 21.1% in the top, against 31.7% and 8.0% among adults 50 to 64

Adults reporting 14 or more of the past 30 days with mental health not good, percent, by age group and annual household income, 2022 to 2024, 50 states and DC

| age6 | conf_high | conf_low | inc5 | n | rate |
| --- | ---: | ---: | --- | ---: | ---: |
| 18 to 24 | 29.81 | 27 | $20,000 to $34,999 | 12,185 | 28.38 |
| 18 to 24 | 25.88 | 22.88 | $35,000 to $49,999 | 9,476 | 24.35 |
| 18 to 24 | 23.37 | 20.46 | $50,000 to $74,999 | 9,518 | 21.88 |
| 18 to 24 | 22.17 | 19.99 | $75,000 or more | 17,893 | 21.06 |
| 18 to 24 | 27.58 | 23.98 | Under $20,000 | 6,442 | 25.74 |
| 25 to 34 | 26.30 | 24.02 | $20,000 to $34,999 | 18,236 | 25.14 |
| 25 to 34 | 25.85 | 23.44 | $35,000 to $49,999 | 16,326 | 24.62 |
| 25 to 34 | 23.53 | 21.29 | $50,000 to $74,999 | 21,228 | 22.39 |
| 25 to 34 | 16.19 | 15.01 | $75,000 or more | 51,332 | 15.59 |
| 25 to 34 | 28.73 | 25.44 | Under $20,000 | 9,188 | 27.05 |
| 35 to 49 | 23.57 | 21.66 | $20,000 to $34,999 | 26,204 | 22.60 |
| 35 to 49 | 21.89 | 19.80 | $35,000 to $49,999 | 21,544 | 20.83 |
| 35 to 49 | 19.39 | 17.64 | $50,000 to $74,999 | 29,848 | 18.50 |
| 35 to 49 | 12.30 | 11.56 | $75,000 or more | 121,548 | 11.92 |
| 35 to 49 | 34.52 | 31.35 | Under $20,000 | 16,152 | 32.91 |
| 50 to 64 | 23.03 | 21.14 | $20,000 to $34,999 | 36,505 | 22.07 |
| 50 to 64 | 16.73 | 14.87 | $35,000 to $49,999 | 27,226 | 15.78 |
| 50 to 64 | 14.06 | 12.52 | $50,000 to $74,999 | 39,413 | 13.27 |
| 50 to 64 | 8.32 | 7.71 | $75,000 or more | 137,852 | 8.01 |
| 50 to 64 | 32.89 | 30.54 | Under $20,000 | 27,662 | 31.71 |
| 65 to 74 | 14.15 | 12.66 | $20,000 to $34,999 | 39,906 | 13.39 |
| 65 to 74 | 11.76 | 10.13 | $35,000 to $49,999 | 32,992 | 10.92 |
| 65 to 74 | 8.49 | 7.33 | $50,000 to $74,999 | 41,346 | 7.89 |
| 65 to 74 | 5.79 | 4.97 | $75,000 or more | 76,414 | 5.36 |
| 65 to 74 | 19.73 | 17.02 | Under $20,000 | 19,938 | 18.33 |
| 75 and older | 10.84 | 9.24 | $20,000 to $34,999 | 37,533 | 10.01 |
| 75 and older | 7.80 | 6.50 | $35,000 to $49,999 | 29,842 | 7.12 |
| 75 and older | 7.32 | 6.12 | $50,000 to $74,999 | 30,253 | 6.69 |
| 75 and older | 5.92 | 4.88 | $75,000 or more | 44,963 | 5.37 |
| 75 and older | 15 | 12.16 | Under $20,000 | 13,098 | 13.52 |

Note: In 2022 to 2024 household income is missing for 22.1% of adults and 32.8% of adults 18 to 24; brackets are in current dollars.

Source: CDC BRFSS, 2022-2024, adults in the 50 states and DC; weighted (BRFSS final weight), design-based intervals

Data: https://vishalsingh.org/zipcode/report/mental-distress-in-young-adults/figures/fmd_age_by_income.json

### Table 7. In 2022 to 2024 the share of adults 18 to 24 ever told of depression was 25.6%, close to the 23.4% with frequent distress now

Adults with frequent mental distress and adults ever told by a health professional of a depressive disorder, percent, by five-year age band, 50 states and DC

| age_band | age_lower | conf_high | conf_low | measure | n | period_label | rate |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | --- | ---: | --- | ---: |
| 18 to 24 | 18 | 13.74 | 12.93 | Frequent mental distress now | 72,087 | 2014 to 2016 | 13.33 |
| 18 to 24 | 18 | 15.96 | 15.13 | Ever told of a depressive disorder | 72,503 | 2014 to 2016 | 15.54 |
| 25 to 29 | 25 | 13.32 | 12.40 | Frequent mental distress now | 60,352 | 2014 to 2016 | 12.85 |
| 25 to 29 | 25 | 17.21 | 16.23 | Ever told of a depressive disorder | 60,803 | 2014 to 2016 | 16.72 |
| 30 to 34 | 30 | 12.73 | 11.90 | Frequent mental distress now | 69,646 | 2014 to 2016 | 12.31 |
| 30 to 34 | 30 | 17.95 | 17.03 | Ever told of a depressive disorder | 70,162 | 2014 to 2016 | 17.49 |
| 35 to 39 | 35 | 12.13 | 11.31 | Frequent mental distress now | 74,688 | 2014 to 2016 | 11.71 |
| 35 to 39 | 35 | 17.47 | 16.56 | Ever told of a depressive disorder | 75,282 | 2014 to 2016 | 17.01 |
| 40 to 44 | 40 | 12.82 | 11.98 | Frequent mental distress now | 79,127 | 2014 to 2016 | 12.40 |
| 40 to 44 | 40 | 18.27 | 17.35 | Ever told of a depressive disorder | 79,754 | 2014 to 2016 | 17.81 |
| 45 to 49 | 45 | 13.26 | 12.42 | Frequent mental distress now | 92,848 | 2014 to 2016 | 12.83 |
| 45 to 49 | 45 | 19.12 | 18.22 | Ever told of a depressive disorder | 93,627 | 2014 to 2016 | 18.67 |
| 50 to 54 | 50 | 13.46 | 12.75 | Frequent mental distress now | 121,236 | 2014 to 2016 | 13.10 |
| 50 to 54 | 50 | 20.13 | 19.30 | Ever told of a depressive disorder | 122,414 | 2014 to 2016 | 19.71 |
| 55 to 59 | 55 | 13.27 | 12.57 | Frequent mental distress now | 141,051 | 2014 to 2016 | 12.92 |
| 55 to 59 | 55 | 21.61 | 20.78 | Ever told of a depressive disorder | 142,659 | 2014 to 2016 | 21.19 |
| 60 to 64 | 60 | 11.63 | 10.93 | Frequent mental distress now | 152,442 | 2014 to 2016 | 11.28 |
| 60 to 64 | 60 | 20.78 | 19.99 | Ever told of a depressive disorder | 154,204 | 2014 to 2016 | 20.38 |
| 65 to 69 | 65 | 8.84 | 8.23 | Frequent mental distress now | 151,105 | 2014 to 2016 | 8.53 |
| 65 to 69 | 65 | 18.54 | 17.75 | Ever told of a depressive disorder | 152,844 | 2014 to 2016 | 18.14 |
| 70 to 74 | 70 | 7.48 | 6.84 | Frequent mental distress now | 118,060 | 2014 to 2016 | 7.15 |
| 70 to 74 | 70 | 15.42 | 14.61 | Ever told of a depressive disorder | 119,817 | 2014 to 2016 | 15.01 |
| 75 to 79 | 75 | 7.24 | 6.46 | Frequent mental distress now | 85,601 | 2014 to 2016 | 6.84 |
| 75 to 79 | 75 | 13.09 | 12.17 | Ever told of a depressive disorder | 87,307 | 2014 to 2016 | 12.62 |
| 80 and older | 80 | 6.72 | 6.07 | Frequent mental distress now | 110,004 | 2014 to 2016 | 6.39 |
| 80 and older | 80 | 10.73 | 9.96 | Ever told of a depressive disorder | 113,372 | 2014 to 2016 | 10.34 |
| 18 to 24 | 18 | 23.95 | 22.91 | Frequent mental distress now | 79,822 | 2022 to 2024 | 23.43 |
| 18 to 24 | 18 | 26.13 | 25.07 | Ever told of a depressive disorder | 80,455 | 2022 to 2024 | 25.60 |
| 25 to 29 | 25 | 21.84 | 20.66 | Frequent mental distress now | 64,452 | 2022 to 2024 | 21.24 |
| 25 to 29 | 25 | 25.95 | 24.73 | Ever told of a depressive disorder | 65,019 | 2022 to 2024 | 25.34 |
| 30 to 34 | 30 | 20.25 | 19.18 | Frequent mental distress now | 73,951 | 2022 to 2024 | 19.71 |
| 30 to 34 | 30 | 25.48 | 24.36 | Ever told of a depressive disorder | 74,693 | 2022 to 2024 | 24.92 |
| 35 to 39 | 35 | 18.24 | 17.23 | Frequent mental distress now | 81,594 | 2022 to 2024 | 17.73 |
| 35 to 39 | 35 | 23.36 | 22.28 | Ever told of a depressive disorder | 82,379 | 2022 to 2024 | 22.81 |
| 40 to 44 | 40 | 16.99 | 16.02 | Frequent mental distress now | 86,224 | 2022 to 2024 | 16.50 |
| 40 to 44 | 40 | 21.83 | 20.81 | Ever told of a depressive disorder | 87,077 | 2022 to 2024 | 21.32 |
| 45 to 49 | 45 | 16.64 | 15.50 | Frequent mental distress now | 81,434 | 2022 to 2024 | 16.06 |
| 45 to 49 | 45 | 21.70 | 20.52 | Ever told of a depressive disorder | 82,305 | 2022 to 2024 | 21.11 |
| 50 to 54 | 50 | 15.19 | 14.23 | Frequent mental distress now | 92,862 | 2022 to 2024 | 14.71 |
| 50 to 54 | 50 | 20.82 | 19.77 | Ever told of a depressive disorder | 93,866 | 2022 to 2024 | 20.29 |
| 55 to 59 | 55 | 15.20 | 14.23 | Frequent mental distress now | 101,915 | 2022 to 2024 | 14.71 |
| 55 to 59 | 55 | 21.23 | 20.18 | Ever told of a depressive disorder | 103,090 | 2022 to 2024 | 20.70 |
| 60 to 64 | 60 | 13.16 | 12.35 | Frequent mental distress now | 125,061 | 2022 to 2024 | 12.75 |
| 60 to 64 | 60 | 20.15 | 19.22 | Ever told of a depressive disorder | 126,705 | 2022 to 2024 | 19.68 |
| 65 to 69 | 65 | 10.44 | 9.68 | Frequent mental distress now | 136,072 | 2022 to 2024 | 10.05 |
| 65 to 69 | 65 | 18.27 | 17.35 | Ever told of a depressive disorder | 137,909 | 2022 to 2024 | 17.80 |
| 70 to 74 | 70 | 9.82 | 9.01 | Frequent mental distress now | 127,355 | 2022 to 2024 | 9.41 |
| 70 to 74 | 70 | 17.11 | 16.14 | Ever told of a depressive disorder | 129,175 | 2022 to 2024 | 16.62 |
| 75 to 79 | 75 | 9.04 | 8.22 | Frequent mental distress now | 100,143 | 2022 to 2024 | 8.62 |
| 75 to 79 | 75 | 14.81 | 13.86 | Ever told of a depressive disorder | 101,808 | 2022 to 2024 | 14.33 |
| 80 and older | 80 | 7.47 | 6.66 | Frequent mental distress now | 111,830 | 2022 to 2024 | 7.05 |
| 80 and older | 80 | 10.50 | 9.59 | Ever told of a depressive disorder | 114,825 | 2022 to 2024 | 10.04 |

Views: 2022 to 2024 (period_label = 2022 to 2024); 2014 to 2016 (period_label = 2014 to 2016).

Note: The diagnosis question asks whether a doctor, nurse or other health professional ever told the respondent of a depressive disorder, so it depends on contact with care as well as on symptoms.

Note: The lines plot the share answering each item. The difference between them quoted in the text is a paired difference among respondents who answered both items, so it can differ slightly from the difference of the two plotted shares.

Source: CDC BRFSS, 2014-2016 and 2022-2024, adults in the 50 states and DC; weighted (BRFSS final weight), design-based intervals

Data: https://vishalsingh.org/zipcode/report/mental-distress-in-young-adults/figures/fmd_vs_diagnosis.json

## All estimates

Every fact in facts.json (116), sorted by id.

| Fact id | Value | Unit | Estimand | Population | Period | Interval | n | Weights | Source | Note |
| --- | ---: | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---: | --- | --- | --- |
| band_2529 | 25 to 29 | years of age | definition used in this chapter, not an estimate | an age group of respondents defined in this chapter | 2014 to 2024 |   |   | none (definition) | BRFSS |   |
| band_2534 | 25 to 34 | years of age | definition used in this chapter, not an estimate | an age group of respondents defined in this chapter | 2014 to 2024 |   |   | none (definition) | BRFSS |   |
| band_3034 | 30 to 34 | years of age | definition used in this chapter, not an estimate | an age group of respondents defined in this chapter | 2014 to 2024 |   |   | none (definition) | BRFSS |   |
| band_3549 | 35 to 49 | years of age | definition used in this chapter, not an estimate | an age group of respondents defined in this chapter | 2014 to 2024 |   |   | none (definition) | BRFSS |   |
| band_5559 | 55 to 59 | years of age | definition used in this chapter, not an estimate | an age group of respondents defined in this chapter | 2014 to 2024 |   |   | none (definition) | BRFSS |   |
| band_6569 | 65 to 69 | years of age | definition used in this chapter, not an estimate | an age group of respondents defined in this chapter | 2014 to 2024 |   |   | none (definition) | BRFSS |   |
| band_6574 | 65 to 74 | years of age | definition used in this chapter, not an estimate | an age group of respondents defined in this chapter | 2014 to 2024 |   |   | none (definition) | BRFSS |   |
| band_mid | 50 to 64 | years of age | definition used in this chapter, not an estimate | an age group of respondents defined in this chapter | 2014 to 2024 |   |   | none (definition) | BRFSS |   |
| band_old | 75 and older | years of age | definition used in this chapter, not an estimate | an age group of respondents defined in this chapter | 2014 to 2024 |   |   | none (definition) | BRFSS |   |
| band_young | 18 to 24 | years of age | definition used in this chapter, not an estimate | an age group of respondents defined in this chapter | 2014 to 2024 |   |   | none (definition) | BRFSS |   |
| chg_2534_14_24 | 7.7 | percentage points | design-based difference between two survey periods, estimated from independent samples (separate survey years), interval from Taylor linearization, 2024 minus 2014 | adults 25 to 34 in the 50 states and DC | 2024 compared with 2014 | 95% CI 6.8 to 8.6 | 90,181 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| chg_3549_22_24 | 0.9 | percentage points | design-based difference between two survey periods, estimated from independent samples (separate survey years), interval from Taylor linearization, 2024 minus 2022 | adults 35 to 49 in the 50 states and DC | 2024 compared with 2022 | 95% CI 0.2 to 1.6 | 169,473 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| chg_mid_14_24 | 1.9 | percentage points | design-based difference between two survey periods, estimated from independent samples (separate survey years), interval from Taylor linearization, 2024 minus 2014 | adults 50 to 64 in the 50 states and DC | 2024 compared with 2014 | 95% CI 1.3 to 2.5 | 247,091 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| chg_old_14_24 | 1.0 | percentage points | design-based difference between two survey periods, estimated from independent samples (separate survey years), interval from Taylor linearization, 2024 minus 2014 | adults 75 and older in the 50 states and DC | 2024 compared with 2014 | 95% CI 0.3 to 1.6 | 140,907 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| chg_young_14_24 | 9.5 | percentage points | design-based difference between two survey periods, estimated from independent samples (separate survey years), interval from Taylor linearization, 2024 minus 2014 | adults 18 to 24 in the 50 states and DC | 2024 compared with 2014 | 95% CI 8.4 to 10.6 | 51,863 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| const_max_diff | 0.5 | percentage points | largest absolute difference between the estimate on the states present in every year and the estimate on all states | the age-by-year estimates of frequent distress | 2014 to 2024 |   |   | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| const_states | 46 | states and the District of Columbia | count of states with respondents in all 11 survey years | jurisdictions with respondents in every survey year | 2014 to 2024 |   | 46 states | none (count) | BRFSS |   |
| dep_5559_early | 21.2% | percent of respondents ever told by a health professional that they have a depressive disorder | design-based weighted share of respondents, logit interval from Taylor linearization | adults 55 to 59 in the 50 states and DC | 2014 to 2016 | 95% CI 20.8% to 21.6% | 142,659 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| dep_5559_late | 20.7% | percent of respondents ever told by a health professional that they have a depressive disorder | design-based weighted share of respondents, logit interval from Taylor linearization | adults 55 to 59 in the 50 states and DC | 2022 to 2024 | 95% CI 20.2% to 21.2% | 103,090 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| dep_gap_vs_2529 | +0.3 | percentage points | design-based difference in weighted shares between two groups of one survey, interval from Taylor linearization, adults 18 to 24 minus adults 25 to 29 | adults 18 to 24 and adults 25 to 29 in the 50 states and DC | 2022 to 2024 | 95% CI −0.5 to 1.1 | 145,474 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| dep_gap_vs_3034 | +0.7 | percentage points | design-based difference in weighted shares between two groups of one survey, interval from Taylor linearization, adults 18 to 24 minus adults 30 to 34 | adults 18 to 24 and adults 30 to 34 in the 50 states and DC | 2022 to 2024 | 95% CI −0.1 to 1.5 | 155,148 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| dep_young_early | 15.5% | percent of respondents ever told by a health professional that they have a depressive disorder | design-based weighted share of respondents, logit interval from Taylor linearization | adults 18 to 24 in the 50 states and DC | 2014 to 2016 | 95% CI 15.1% to 16.0% | 72,503 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| dep_young_late | 25.6% | percent of respondents ever told by a health professional that they have a depressive disorder | design-based weighted share of respondents, logit interval from Taylor linearization | adults 18 to 24 in the 50 states and DC | 2022 to 2024 | 95% CI 25.1% to 26.1% | 80,455 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| did_inc_2_vs_low | 6.3 | percentage points | difference between the rises of two groups: the gap between the groups in each period, combined across the two independent periods | adults 18 to 24 in the second and lowest household income brackets | 2022 to 2024 compared with 2014 to 2016 | 95% CI 3.7 to 9.0 | 46,215 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| did_inc_top_vs_low | 0.7 | percentage points | difference between the rises of two groups: the gap between the groups in each period, combined across the two independent periods | adults 18 to 24 in the top and lowest household income brackets | 2022 to 2024 compared with 2014 to 2016 | 95% CI −1.8 to 3.2 | 49,419 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| dip_young_2020 | 1.5 | percentage points | design-based difference between two survey periods, estimated from independent samples (separate survey years), interval from Taylor linearization, 2019 minus 2020 | adults 18 to 24 in the 50 states and DC | 2019 compared with 2020 | 95% CI 0.2 to 2.8 | 48,616 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| drop_young_22_24 | 3.5 | percentage points | design-based difference between two survey periods, estimated from independent samples (separate survey years), interval from Taylor linearization, 2022 minus 2024 | adults 18 to 24 in the 50 states and DC | 2022 compared with 2024 | 95% CI 2.3 to 4.8 | 54,526 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| dx_gap_6569_late | 7.6 | percentage points | design-based mean over respondents who answered both items of each respondent's diagnosis indicator minus distress indicator, interval from Taylor linearization | adults 65 to 69 who answered both the distress and the diagnosis questions, in the 50 states and DC | 2022 to 2024 | 95% CI 7.1 to 8.1 | 135,563 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| dx_gap_80_late | 2.8 | percentage points | design-based mean over respondents who answered both items of each respondent's diagnosis indicator minus distress indicator, interval from Taylor linearization | adults 80 and older who answered both the distress and the diagnosis questions, in the 50 states and DC | 2022 to 2024 | 95% CI 2.3 to 3.3 | 111,277 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| dx_gap_young_early | 2.2 | percentage points | design-based mean over respondents who answered both items of each respondent's diagnosis indicator minus distress indicator, interval from Taylor linearization | adults 18 to 24 who answered both the distress and the diagnosis questions, in the 50 states and DC | 2014 to 2016 | 95% CI 1.7 to 2.7 | 71,627 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| dx_gap_young_late | 2.4 | percentage points | design-based mean over respondents who answered both items of each respondent's diagnosis indicator minus distress indicator, interval from Taylor linearization | adults 18 to 24 who answered both the distress and the diagnosis questions, in the 50 states and DC | 2022 to 2024 | 95% CI 1.8 to 3.0 | 79,000 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| fmd_all_2014 | 11.4% | percent of respondents who reported frequent mental distress (14 or more of the past 30 days with mental health not good) | design-based weighted share of respondents, logit interval from Taylor linearization | adults in the 50 states and the District of Columbia | 2014 | 95% CI 11.2% to 11.6% | 448,268 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| fmd_all_2022 | 15.8% | percent of respondents who reported frequent mental distress (14 or more of the past 30 days with mental health not good) | design-based weighted share of respondents, logit interval from Taylor linearization | adults in the 50 states and the District of Columbia | 2022 | 95% CI 15.5% to 16.0% | 426,923 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| fmd_all_2024 | 15.6% | percent of respondents who reported frequent mental distress (14 or more of the past 30 days with mental health not good) | design-based weighted share of respondents, logit interval from Taylor linearization | adults in the 50 states and the District of Columbia | 2024 | 95% CI 15.3% to 15.8% | 442,292 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| fmd_days | 14 | days of poor mental health in the past 30 | definition used in this chapter, not an estimate | cutoff for frequent mental distress | 2014 to 2024 |   |   | none (definition) | BRFSS |   |
| fmd_inc_missing | 14.9% | percent of respondents who reported frequent mental distress (14 or more of the past 30 days with mental health not good) | design-based weighted share of respondents, logit interval from Taylor linearization | adults who did not report household income | 2022 to 2024 | 95% CI 14.6% to 15.2% | 255,353 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| fmd_inc_reported | 15.8% | percent of respondents who reported frequent mental distress (14 or more of the past 30 days with mental health not good) | design-based weighted share of respondents, logit interval from Taylor linearization | adults who reported household income | 2022 to 2024 | 95% CI 15.7% to 16.0% | 1,030,978 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| fmd_mid_2014 | 12.5% | percent of respondents who reported frequent mental distress (14 or more of the past 30 days with mental health not good) | design-based weighted share of respondents, logit interval from Taylor linearization | adults 50 to 64 in the 50 states and DC | 2014 | 95% CI 12.2% to 12.9% | 140,980 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| fmd_mid_2022 | 13.8% | percent of respondents who reported frequent mental distress (14 or more of the past 30 days with mental health not good) | design-based weighted share of respondents, logit interval from Taylor linearization | adults 50 to 64 in the 50 states and DC | 2022 | 95% CI 13.3% to 14.2% | 110,334 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| fmd_mid_2024 | 14.4% | percent of respondents who reported frequent mental distress (14 or more of the past 30 days with mental health not good) | design-based weighted share of respondents, logit interval from Taylor linearization | adults 50 to 64 in the 50 states and DC | 2024 | 95% CI 13.9% to 14.9% | 106,111 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| fmd_old_2014 | 6.5% | percent of respondents who reported frequent mental distress (14 or more of the past 30 days with mental health not good) | design-based weighted share of respondents, logit interval from Taylor linearization | adults 75 and older in the 50 states and DC | 2014 | 95% CI 6.1% to 7.0% | 65,066 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| fmd_old_2024 | 7.5% | percent of respondents who reported frequent mental distress (14 or more of the past 30 days with mental health not good) | design-based weighted share of respondents, logit interval from Taylor linearization | adults 75 and older in the 50 states and DC | 2024 | 95% CI 7.1% to 8.0% | 75,841 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| fmd_young_2014 | 12.3% | percent of respondents who reported frequent mental distress (14 or more of the past 30 days with mental health not good) | design-based weighted share of respondents, logit interval from Taylor linearization | adults 18 to 24 in the 50 states and DC | 2014 | 95% CI 11.6% to 13.0% | 23,152 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| fmd_young_2022 | 25.3% | percent of respondents who reported frequent mental distress (14 or more of the past 30 days with mental health not good) | design-based weighted share of respondents, logit interval from Taylor linearization | adults 18 to 24 in the 50 states and DC | 2022 | 95% CI 24.4% to 26.2% | 25,815 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| fmd_young_2024 | 21.8% | percent of respondents who reported frequent mental distress (14 or more of the past 30 days with mental health not good) | design-based weighted share of respondents, logit interval from Taylor linearization | adults 18 to 24 in the 50 states and DC | 2024 | 95% CI 20.9% to 22.7% | 28,711 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| gap_ym_2014 | −0.2 | percentage points | design-based difference in weighted shares between two groups of one survey, interval from Taylor linearization, adults 18 to 24 minus adults 50 to 64 | adults 18 to 24 and adults 50 to 64 in the 50 states and DC | 2014 | 95% CI −1.0 to 0.5 | 164,132 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| gap_ym_2015 | +0.9 | percentage points | design-based difference in weighted shares between two groups of one survey, interval from Taylor linearization, adults 18 to 24 minus adults 50 to 64 | adults 18 to 24 and adults 50 to 64 in the 50 states and DC | 2015 | 95% CI 0.1 to 1.7 | 155,179 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| gap_ym_2022 | +11.6 | percentage points | design-based difference in weighted shares between two groups of one survey, interval from Taylor linearization, adults 18 to 24 minus adults 50 to 64 | adults 18 to 24 and adults 50 to 64 in the 50 states and DC | 2022 | 95% CI 10.6 to 12.6 | 136,149 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| gap_ym_2024 | +7.4 | percentage points | design-based difference in weighted shares between two groups of one survey, interval from Taylor linearization, adults 18 to 24 minus adults 50 to 64 | adults 18 to 24 and adults 50 to 64 in the 50 states and DC | 2024 | 95% CI 6.4 to 8.4 | 134,822 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| heat_age_low | −6.0 | percentage points | design-based difference in weighted shares between two groups of one survey, interval from Taylor linearization, adults 18 to 24 minus adults 50 to 64 | adults 18 to 24 and 50 to 64 in the lowest household income bracket | 2022 to 2024 | 95% CI −8.1 to −3.8 | 34,104 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| heat_age_top | +13.0 | percentage points | design-based difference in weighted shares between two groups of one survey, interval from Taylor linearization, adults 18 to 24 minus adults 50 to 64 | adults 18 to 24 and 50 to 64 in the top household income bracket | 2022 to 2024 | 95% CI 11.9 to 14.2 | 155,745 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| heat_grad_2534 | 11.5 | percentage points | design-based difference in weighted shares between two groups of one survey, interval from Taylor linearization, lowest bracket minus top bracket | adults 25 to 34 in the lowest and top household income brackets | 2022 to 2024 | 95% CI 9.7 to 13.2 | 60,520 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| heat_grad_3549 | 21.0 | percentage points | design-based difference in weighted shares between two groups of one survey, interval from Taylor linearization, lowest bracket minus top bracket | adults 35 to 49 in the lowest and top household income brackets | 2022 to 2024 | 95% CI 19.4 to 22.6 | 137,700 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| heat_grad_mid | 23.7 | percentage points | design-based difference in weighted shares between two groups of one survey, interval from Taylor linearization, lowest bracket minus top bracket | adults 50 to 64 in the lowest and top household income brackets | 2022 to 2024 | 95% CI 22.5 to 24.9 | 165,514 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| heat_grad_young | 4.7 | percentage points | design-based difference in weighted shares between two groups of one survey, interval from Taylor linearization, lowest bracket minus top bracket | adults 18 to 24 in the lowest and top household income brackets | 2022 to 2024 | 95% CI 2.6 to 6.8 | 24,335 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| heat_max | 32.9% | percent of respondents who reported frequent mental distress (14 or more of the past 30 days with mental health not good) | design-based weighted share of respondents, logit interval from Taylor linearization | adults 35 to 49 in the lowest household income bracket | 2022 to 2024 | 95% CI 31.3% to 34.5% | 16,152 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| heat_mid_low | 31.7% | percent of respondents who reported frequent mental distress (14 or more of the past 30 days with mental health not good) | design-based weighted share of respondents, logit interval from Taylor linearization | adults 50 to 64 in the lowest household income bracket | 2022 to 2024 | 95% CI 30.5% to 32.9% | 27,662 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| heat_mid_top | 8.0% | percent of respondents who reported frequent mental distress (14 or more of the past 30 days with mental health not good) | design-based weighted share of respondents, logit interval from Taylor linearization | adults 50 to 64 in the top household income bracket | 2022 to 2024 | 95% CI 7.7% to 8.3% | 137,852 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| heat_young_low | 25.7% | percent of respondents who reported frequent mental distress (14 or more of the past 30 days with mental health not good) | design-based weighted share of respondents, logit interval from Taylor linearization | adults 18 to 24 in the lowest household income bracket | 2022 to 2024 | 95% CI 24.0% to 27.6% | 6,442 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| heat_young_top | 21.1% | percent of respondents who reported frequent mental distress (14 or more of the past 30 days with mental health not good) | design-based weighted share of respondents, logit interval from Taylor linearization | adults 18 to 24 in the top household income bracket | 2022 to 2024 | 95% CI 20.0% to 22.2% | 17,893 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| inc_low_cut | $20,000 | dollars of annual household income | definition used in this chapter, not an estimate | lowest household income bracket in the survey recode | 2014 to 2024 |   |   | none (definition) | BRFSS |   |
| inc_top_cut | $75,000 | dollars of annual household income | definition used in this chapter, not an estimate | highest household income bracket in the survey recode | 2014 to 2024 |   |   | none (definition) | BRFSS |   |
| income_all_low | 26.9% | percent of respondents who reported frequent mental distress (14 or more of the past 30 days with mental health not good) | design-based weighted share of respondents, logit interval from Taylor linearization | adults in the lowest household income bracket | 2022 to 2024 | 95% CI 26.3% to 27.6% | 93,274 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| income_all_top | 11.1% | percent of respondents who reported frequent mental distress (14 or more of the past 30 days with mental health not good) | design-based weighted share of respondents, logit interval from Taylor linearization | adults in the top household income bracket | 2022 to 2024 | 95% CI 10.9% to 11.3% | 453,847 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| income_missing_all | 22.1% | percent of adults (weighted) with no valid household income | weighted share of respondents whose income is don't know, refused or missing | adults in the 50 states and the District of Columbia | 2022 to 2024 |   |   | BRFSS final weight | BRFSS |   |
| income_missing_young | 32.8% | percent of adults (weighted) with no valid household income | weighted share of respondents whose income is don't know, refused or missing | adults 18 to 24 in the 50 states and DC | 2022 to 2024 |   |   | BRFSS final weight | BRFSS |   |
| item_nonresponse | 1.8% | percent of respondents with no valid answer to the mental health question (don't know, refused or not asked) | unweighted share of rows | respondents in the 50 states and DC | 2014 to 2024 |   | 4,790,742 respondents | none (unweighted share) | BRFSS |   |
| men_young_early | 10.6% | percent of respondents who reported frequent mental distress (14 or more of the past 30 days with mental health not good) | design-based weighted share of respondents, logit interval from Taylor linearization | men 18 to 24 in the 50 states and DC | 2014 to 2016 | 95% CI 10.2% to 11.2% | 37,580 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| men_young_late | 18.1% | percent of respondents who reported frequent mental distress (14 or more of the past 30 days with mental health not good) | design-based weighted share of respondents, logit interval from Taylor linearization | men 18 to 24 in the 50 states and DC | 2022 to 2024 | 95% CI 17.5% to 18.8% | 45,502 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| metro_cov_early | 38.7% | percent of adults (weighted) with a metro status code | weighted share of respondents whose metro status is coded | adults in the 50 states and the District of Columbia | 2014 to 2016 |   |   | BRFSS final weight | BRFSS |   |
| metro_cov_late | 11.4% | percent of adults (weighted) with a metro status code | weighted share of respondents whose metro status is coded | adults in the 50 states and the District of Columbia | 2022 to 2024 |   |   | BRFSS final weight | BRFSS |   |
| metro_n_max | 384 | respondents | count of respondent rows | the largest metro-status group of adults 18 to 24 | 2022 to 2024 |   | 384 respondents | none (unweighted count) | BRFSS |   |
| metro_n_min | 103 | respondents | count of respondent rows | the smallest metro-status group of adults 18 to 24 | 2022 to 2024 |   | 103 respondents | none (unweighted count) | BRFSS |   |
| metro_n_positive | one | metro-status groups | count of groups whose interval for the rise lies above zero | the four metro-status groups of adults 18 to 24 | 2022 to 2024 compared with 2014 to 2016 |   |   | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| metro_width_max | 31.9 | percentage points | widest interval width among the four rises | the four metro-status groups of adults 18 to 24 | 2022 to 2024 compared with 2014 to 2016 |   |   | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| metro_width_min | 12.6 | percentage points | narrowest interval width among the four rises | the four metro-status groups of adults 18 to 24 | 2022 to 2024 compared with 2014 to 2016 |   |   | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| n_eff_young_late | 24,390 | respondents (effective sample size from the weights) | Kish effective sample size, (sum of weights) squared over the sum of squared weights | respondents 18 to 24 with an answer to the distress question | 2022 to 2024 |   |   | BRFSS final weight | BRFSS |   |
| n_file | 4,874,919 | respondents | count of respondent rows | respondents in the staged file, all jurisdictions | 2014 to 2024 |   | 4,874,919 respondents | none (unweighted count) | BRFSS |   |
| n_states | 4,790,742 | respondents | count of respondent rows | respondents in the 50 states and the District of Columbia | 2014 to 2024 |   | 4,790,742 respondents | none (unweighted count) | BRFSS |   |
| n_valid_age | 4,626,736 | respondents | count of respondent rows | respondents in the 50 states and DC with a valid answer to the distress question and an age group | 2014 to 2024 |   | 4,626,736 respondents | none (unweighted count) | BRFSS |   |
| n_young_late | 79,822 | respondents | count of respondent rows | respondents 18 to 24 with an answer to the distress question | 2022 to 2024 |   | 79,822 respondents | none (unweighted count) | BRFSS |   |
| prof_early_80 | 6.4% | percent of respondents who reported frequent mental distress (14 or more of the past 30 days with mental health not good) | design-based weighted share of respondents, logit interval from Taylor linearization | adults 80 and older in the 50 states and DC | 2014 to 2016 | 95% CI 6.1% to 6.7% | 110,004 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| prof_early_max | 13.3% | percent of respondents who reported frequent mental distress (14 or more of the past 30 days with mental health not good) | highest of eight design-based band estimates | the eight five-year age bands from 18 to 59 | 2014 to 2016 |   |   | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| prof_early_min | 11.7% | percent of respondents who reported frequent mental distress (14 or more of the past 30 days with mental health not good) | lowest of eight design-based band estimates | the eight five-year age bands from 18 to 59 | 2014 to 2016 |   |   | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| prof_late_55 | 14.7% | percent of respondents who reported frequent mental distress (14 or more of the past 30 days with mental health not good) | design-based weighted share of respondents, logit interval from Taylor linearization | adults 55 to 59 in the 50 states and DC | 2022 to 2024 | 95% CI 14.2% to 15.2% | 101,915 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| prof_late_80 | 7.1% | percent of respondents who reported frequent mental distress (14 or more of the past 30 days with mental health not good) | design-based weighted share of respondents, logit interval from Taylor linearization | adults 80 and older in the 50 states and DC | 2022 to 2024 | 95% CI 6.7% to 7.5% | 111,830 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| recall_days | 30 | days in the recall period of the question | definition used in this chapter, not an estimate | the BRFSS mental health question | 2014 to 2024 |   |   | none (definition) | BRFSS |   |
| rise_dep_young | 10.1 | percentage points | design-based difference between two survey periods, estimated from independent samples (separate survey years), interval from Taylor linearization, late period minus early period | adults 18 to 24 in the 50 states and DC | 2022 to 2024 compared with 2014 to 2016 | 95% CI 9.4 to 10.7 | 152,958 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| rise_edu_college | 9.7 | percentage points | design-based difference between two survey periods, estimated from independent samples (separate survey years), interval from Taylor linearization, late period minus early period | adults 18 to 24 whose highest education is: college graduate | 2022 to 2024 compared with 2014 to 2016 | 95% CI 8.4 to 10.9 | 27,770 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| rise_edu_nohs | 6.5 | percentage points | design-based difference between two survey periods, estimated from independent samples (separate survey years), interval from Taylor linearization, late period minus early period | adults 18 to 24 whose highest education is: did not finish high school | 2022 to 2024 compared with 2014 to 2016 | 95% CI 4.2 to 8.9 | 11,334 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| rise_inc_2 | 15.1 | percentage points | design-based difference between two survey periods, estimated from independent samples (separate survey years), interval from Taylor linearization, late period minus early period | adults 18 to 24 in households in the second income bracket | 2022 to 2024 compared with 2014 to 2016 | 95% CI 13.5 to 16.8 | 25,841 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| rise_inc_low | 8.8 | percentage points | design-based difference between two survey periods, estimated from independent samples (separate survey years), interval from Taylor linearization, late period minus early period | adults 18 to 24 in households below the lowest income cutoff | 2022 to 2024 compared with 2014 to 2016 | 95% CI 6.8 to 10.9 | 20,374 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| rise_inc_top | 9.5 | percentage points | design-based difference between two survey periods, estimated from independent samples (separate survey years), interval from Taylor linearization, late period minus early period | adults 18 to 24 in households at or above the top income cutoff | 2022 to 2024 compared with 2014 to 2016 | 95% CI 8.0 to 11.0 | 29,045 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| rise_men | 7.5 | percentage points | design-based difference between two survey periods, estimated from independent samples (separate survey years), interval from Taylor linearization, late period minus early period | men 18 to 24 in the 50 states and DC | 2022 to 2024 compared with 2014 to 2016 | 95% CI 6.7 to 8.3 | 83,082 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| rise_women | 12.8 | percentage points | design-based difference between two survey periods, estimated from independent samples (separate survey years), interval from Taylor linearization, late period minus early period | women 18 to 24 in the 50 states and DC | 2022 to 2024 compared with 2014 to 2016 | 95% CI 11.8 to 13.9 | 68,819 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| rise_young_all | 10.1 | percentage points | design-based difference between two survey periods, estimated from independent samples (separate survey years), interval from Taylor linearization, late period minus early period | adults 18 to 24 in the 50 states and DC | 2022 to 2024 compared with 2014 to 2016 | 95% CI 9.4 to 10.8 | 151,909 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| sex_gap_chg_2534 | 2.7 | percentage points | change in the women-minus-men gap between two independent periods, standard errors combined in quadrature | women and men 25 to 34 in the 50 states and DC | 2022 to 2024 compared with 2014 to 2016 | 95% CI 1.7 to 3.7 | 268,390 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| sex_gap_chg_mid | 1.0 | percentage points | change in the women-minus-men gap between two independent periods, standard errors combined in quadrature | women and men 50 to 64 in the 50 states and DC | 2022 to 2024 compared with 2014 to 2016 | 95% CI 0.4 to 1.7 | 734,563 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| sex_gap_chg_young | 5.3 | percentage points | change in the women-minus-men gap between two independent periods, standard errors combined in quadrature | women and men 18 to 24 in the 50 states and DC | 2022 to 2024 compared with 2014 to 2016 | 95% CI 4.0 to 6.7 | 151,901 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| sex_gap_mid_early | 4.2 | percentage points | design-based difference in weighted shares between two groups of one survey, interval from Taylor linearization, women minus men | women and men 50 to 64 in the 50 states and DC | 2014 to 2016 | 95% CI 3.8 to 4.6 | 414,725 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| sex_gap_mid_late | 5.2 | percentage points | design-based difference in weighted shares between two groups of one survey, interval from Taylor linearization, women minus men | women and men 50 to 64 in the 50 states and DC | 2022 to 2024 | 95% CI 4.7 to 5.8 | 319,838 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| sex_gap_young_early | 5.5 | percentage points | design-based difference in weighted shares between two groups of one survey, interval from Taylor linearization, women minus men | women and men 18 to 24 in the 50 states and DC | 2014 to 2016 | 95% CI 4.7 to 6.3 | 72,079 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| sex_gap_young_late | 10.8 | percentage points | design-based difference in weighted shares between two groups of one survey, interval from Taylor linearization, women minus men | women and men 18 to 24 in the 50 states and DC | 2022 to 2024 | 95% CI 9.8 to 11.9 | 79,822 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| spread_2014 | 0.3 | percentage points | highest minus lowest of four design-based group estimates | the four age groups from 18 to 64 | 2014 |   |   | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| women_young_early | 16.2% | percent of respondents who reported frequent mental distress (14 or more of the past 30 days with mental health not good) | design-based weighted share of respondents, logit interval from Taylor linearization | women 18 to 24 in the 50 states and DC | 2014 to 2016 | 95% CI 15.5% to 16.8% | 34,499 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| women_young_late | 29.0% | percent of respondents who reported frequent mental distress (14 or more of the past 30 days with mental health not good) | design-based weighted share of respondents, logit interval from Taylor linearization | women 18 to 24 in the 50 states and DC | 2022 to 2024 | 95% CI 28.1% to 29.8% | 34,320 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| year_cross | 2015 | calendar year | first survey year in which the interval for the difference lies above zero | adults 18 to 24 compared with adults 50 to 64 | 2014 to 2024 |   |   | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| young_early_all | 13.3% | percent of respondents who reported frequent mental distress (14 or more of the past 30 days with mental health not good) | design-based weighted share of respondents, logit interval from Taylor linearization | adults 18 to 24 in the 50 states and DC | 2014 to 2016 | 95% CI 12.9% to 13.7% | 72,087 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| young_edu_college_early | 8.9% | percent of respondents who reported frequent mental distress (14 or more of the past 30 days with mental health not good) | design-based weighted share of respondents, logit interval from Taylor linearization | adults 18 to 24 whose highest education is: college graduate | 2014 to 2016 | 95% CI 8.3% to 9.7% | 12,255 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| young_edu_college_late | 18.6% | percent of respondents who reported frequent mental distress (14 or more of the past 30 days with mental health not good) | design-based weighted share of respondents, logit interval from Taylor linearization | adults 18 to 24 whose highest education is: college graduate | 2022 to 2024 | 95% CI 17.6% to 19.6% | 15,515 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| young_edu_nohs_early | 17.3% | percent of respondents who reported frequent mental distress (14 or more of the past 30 days with mental health not good) | design-based weighted share of respondents, logit interval from Taylor linearization | adults 18 to 24 whose highest education is: did not finish high school | 2014 to 2016 | 95% CI 15.9% to 18.8% | 5,549 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| young_edu_nohs_late | 23.8% | percent of respondents who reported frequent mental distress (14 or more of the past 30 days with mental health not good) | design-based weighted share of respondents, logit interval from Taylor linearization | adults 18 to 24 whose highest education is: did not finish high school | 2022 to 2024 | 95% CI 22.0% to 25.7% | 5,785 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| young_inc_low_early | 16.9% | percent of respondents who reported frequent mental distress (14 or more of the past 30 days with mental health not good) | design-based weighted share of respondents, logit interval from Taylor linearization | adults 18 to 24 in households below the lowest income cutoff | 2014 to 2016 | 95% CI 16.0% to 17.9% | 13,932 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| young_inc_top_late | 21.1% | percent of respondents who reported frequent mental distress (14 or more of the past 30 days with mental health not good) | design-based weighted share of respondents, logit interval from Taylor linearization | adults 18 to 24 in households at or above the top income cutoff | 2022 to 2024 | 95% CI 20.0% to 22.2% | 17,893 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| young_late_all | 23.4% | percent of respondents who reported frequent mental distress (14 or more of the past 30 days with mental health not good) | design-based weighted share of respondents, logit interval from Taylor linearization | adults 18 to 24 in the 50 states and DC | 2022 to 2024 | 95% CI 22.9% to 23.9% | 79,822 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |
| young_late_coded | 20.6% | percent of respondents who reported frequent mental distress (14 or more of the past 30 days with mental health not good) | design-based weighted share of respondents, logit interval from Taylor linearization | adults 18 to 24 with a metro status code | 2022 to 2024 | 95% CI 16.2% to 25.9% | 942 respondents | BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based) | BRFSS |   |

## Definitions

- Survey weights: Numbers attached to survey respondents that say how many people in the population each one represents, so that results describe the whole population and not only the people who answered.

## Methods

These estimates compare adults in the 2014 to 2024 BRFSS public-use files on frequent mental distress and on ever having been told of a depressive disorder, by age, sex, household income, education and metro status, in three periods: 2014 to 2016, 2017 to 2019 and 2022 to 2024. Every estimate is design-based, using the final weight, the stratum and the primary sampling unit, and the survey is a repeated cross-section: each year draws new respondents and nobody is followed. Some state-years have no respondents in the public files, metro status is missing for most respondents in recent years, and the sex item changed over the period, so comparisons of women and men between 2014 to 2016 and 2022 to 2024 compare groups defined slightly differently.

### Who is in the sample and which years are covered

Respondents are adults in the 50 states and the District of Columbia in the 2014 to 2024 BRFSS public-use files; Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are excluded, as in the chapter Health behaviors, person by person. Both questions were asked in every year.

The three periods are 2014 to 2016, 2017 to 2019 and 2022 to 2024, which leaves out the pandemic years 2020 and 2021. Every cell has at least 30 respondents.

New Jersey in 2019, Florida in 2021, Kentucky and Pennsylvania in 2023 and Tennessee in 2024 have no respondents in the public files; estimates limited to the states present in every year are within the margin stated in the text.

The survey is a repeated cross-section: each year draws new respondents and nobody is followed.

Explains Table 1.

### How the measures and groups are defined

Frequent mental distress is 14 or more of the past 30 days with mental health not good (88 means none and counts as 0 days; 77 and 99 are missing). A depression diagnosis is a yes to having ever been told by a doctor, nurse or other health professional of a depressive disorder (7 and 9 are missing).

Age groups are built from the five-year BRFSS age categories; household income is collapsed into five brackets (under $20,000, $20,000 to $34,999, $35,000 to $49,999, $50,000 to $74,999 and $75,000 or more, in current dollars) and education into four; metro status is the BRFSS code (center city, outside the center city in its county, suburban county, not in a metro area), which is missing for most respondents in recent years.

The share of adults with no valid household income is for 2022 to 2024.

The difference between the diagnosis share and the distress share is a paired difference among respondents who answered both items.

Explains Table 7 and Table 6.

### How the sex item changed

The sex item changed over the period: in the early questionnaires sex could be filled in at screening or recorded by the interviewer, later questionnaires ask whether the respondent is male or female at screening, and the latest add a question on sex at birth; the chapter's women and men are the survey's sex variable, coded male and female, so comparisons between 2014 to 2016 and 2022 to 2024 compare groups defined slightly differently.

Explains Table 4.

### How the survey weights and design enter the estimates

Every estimate is design-based: the final weight, the stratum and the primary sampling unit (each respondent is its own unit in the public file), with strata specific to a state and year and strata that hold one unit merged with the next stratum in the same state and year.

A subgroup is a domain of the whole design, so every cell keeps the strata and units of the full survey.

BRFSS has used raking and included cell phone respondents since 2011, so all years in the file use one weighting method.

### How uncertainty and differences are computed

Variances come from Taylor linearization and intervals are 95% intervals on the design degrees of freedom, logit intervals for shares and normal intervals for differences.

A difference between two groups in one period uses a linearized difference with a shared design; a difference between two periods combines two independent estimates, because survey years are drawn separately, and the change in a gap is the difference of two such differences.

Explains Table 2 and Table 5.

## What these data cannot show

The BRFSS is a repeated cross-section. The youngest adults in 2022 are a different set of people from those in 2014, and the data cannot separate age, survey year and birth cohort. They also cannot say whether a fall from 2022 to 2024 will continue.

Frequent mental distress is self-reported. It reflects how respondents experience the past month and how willing they are to say so, and willingness may have changed more among the young than among the old. The BRFSS reaches adults who live in households and answer a telephone call, so it misses people in hospitals, prisons and other institutions and people without a stable phone, and nonresponse can change over time in ways the weights may not fully correct. The state of residence is known and no smaller area is, so nothing here describes a neighborhood or a county.

Several comparisons rest on thin or imperfect measures. Household income is missing for a large part of the youngest adults and describes a household, not the respondent. Education among adults 18 to 24 is unfinished. Metro status is coded for a shrinking part of the sample, and the sex item changed wording over the period. The 2020 and 2021 interviews took place during the pandemic and are shown by year but left out of the three periods. Some states are absent in some years. Intervals describe sampling variation under the survey design and do not carry any bias from nonresponse or measurement.

The chapter makes no causal claim outside the study in the box above. Differences between groups, such as the difference between women and men or between income brackets, are patterns in who reports distress, and the data do not identify what produces them.

## References

1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Disability and Health Data System (2025). Data Guides: Mental and Emotional Health. CDC Disability and Health Data System web page, last reviewed April 3, 2025. https://www.cdc.gov/dhds/data-guides/mental-and-emotional-health.html
2. Zahran, H. S.; Kobau, R.; Moriarty, D. G.; Zack, M. M.; Giles, W. H.; Lando, J. (2004). Self-reported frequent mental distress among adults, United States, 1993-2001. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 53(41): 963-966. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5341a1.htm
3. Binder, David A. (1983). On the variances of asymptotically normal estimators from complex surveys. International Statistical Review 51(3): 279-292. https://doi.org/10.2307/1402588
4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2025). 2024 BRFSS Survey Data and Documentation. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, CDC web page, last reviewed September 17, 2025. https://www.cdc.gov/brfss/annual_data/annual_2024.html
5. Blanchflower, David G.; Bryson, Alex; Xu, Xiaowei (2025). The declining mental health of the young and the global disappearance of the unhappiness hump shape in age. PLOS ONE 20(8): e0327858. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0327858
6. Twenge, Jean M.; Cooper, A. Bell; Joiner, Thomas E.; Duffy, Mary E.; Binau, Sarah G. (2019). Age, period, and cohort trends in mood disorder indicators and suicide-related outcomes in a nationally representative dataset, 2005-2017. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 128(3): 185-199. https://doi.org/10.1037/abn0000410
7. Braghieri, Luca; Levy, Ro'ee; Makarin, Alexey (2022). Social media and mental health. American Economic Review 112(11): 3660-3693. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.20211218

## Provenance

- Pipeline version: 0.1.0
- Build script: book2/chapters/mental-distress-in-young-adults/build.py (sha256 f02f44aa6c555f8239b835276a342fd70113c3c2fef29ca788d0b1445725b292)
- Built on: 2026-10-07
- Site commit: c2b1ff3309cb4a10833f884da91ac0057a66ad0a

Inputs:

| File | Size (bytes) | SHA-256, first 1 MB | SHA-256, last 1 MB |
| --- | ---: | --- | --- |
| book2/chapters/mental-distress-in-young-adults/mental_data.py | 11,416 | 4f8615a02246abc050849ee8b67fb02a86778b5e6f4eec851007a95a9cd34016 | 4f8615a02246abc050849ee8b67fb02a86778b5e6f4eec851007a95a9cd34016 |
| data/raw/brfss/brfss-micro-meta.json | 88,972 | 6dc744f4f0537ba682baa1d594e3d8d1f993cd0a70eb1928d7683cb23d14b30d | 6dc744f4f0537ba682baa1d594e3d8d1f993cd0a70eb1928d7683cb23d14b30d |
| data/raw/brfss/brfss-micro.parquet | 215,585,473 | 5cb7fcfe4caeaf86869cf7b50ad5b67114d491512c29004891215967b137b4c3 | 1ee9a472beb0fdb50a7b1263ed6e0f1e86040566c3bff006a7d1eaa0e391d0fa |

Outputs:

| File | SHA-256 |
| --- | --- |
| facts.json | 2d83e0c39ac35fbe9835817da08ecd7beccaf7e8b92ea9186555fb38c7ea0cf6 |
| figures/fmd_age_by_income.json | a667540d59b049480d15bcdd895381e87b80afa04592977b9bf14df24f54a336 |
| figures/fmd_age_profile.json | ff66c06d1d1f1c9c41062efe474d7089dccaa7fda15e07393ffac17574134bb1 |
| figures/fmd_by_year_age.json | 0ba165e0766c3e50efda784c26a749af131a42d9552170deb7dc6f4960404bb6 |
| figures/fmd_vs_diagnosis.json | b9e7ae678cf7a1d32b65bcf10cdd3dbda282c62c1921f5308cf607bb5a6d545b |
| figures/sex_gap_by_age.json | 6d446a231fe4ef3d8231633fb099bcfdc415985dedbef5efaba93969c6e97220 |
| figures/young_minus_midlife.json | 17a12e90f7ac8ad647c37e01e0c21ba5361f263dd2c026f07720d47e1419002c |
| figures/young_rise_by_group.json | b4d749ffce24a26a1aaaa2dc1c5520a94448346f5b89734f51f19ab32ed80a6f |
| meta.json | dd7b876f051d12ffb933e672899d21313300870f19b9cbda4faf042e5615367c |
| refs.json | 9d2faaa062d750052a7195717554fcdb1e22bab37da017f4fcbbad0d990b7788 |

## Machine formats

- Report (HTML): https://vishalsingh.org/zipcode/mental-distress-in-young-adults/report
- Report (Markdown): https://vishalsingh.org/zipcode/mental-distress-in-young-adults/report.md
- Every estimate (JSON): https://vishalsingh.org/zipcode/report/mental-distress-in-young-adults/facts.json
- Table 1, figure "fmd_by_year_age" (JSON): https://vishalsingh.org/zipcode/report/mental-distress-in-young-adults/figures/fmd_by_year_age.json
- Table 2, figure "young_minus_midlife" (JSON): https://vishalsingh.org/zipcode/report/mental-distress-in-young-adults/figures/young_minus_midlife.json
- Table 3, figure "fmd_age_profile" (JSON): https://vishalsingh.org/zipcode/report/mental-distress-in-young-adults/figures/fmd_age_profile.json
- Table 4, figure "sex_gap_by_age" (JSON): https://vishalsingh.org/zipcode/report/mental-distress-in-young-adults/figures/sex_gap_by_age.json
- Table 5, figure "young_rise_by_group" (JSON): https://vishalsingh.org/zipcode/report/mental-distress-in-young-adults/figures/young_rise_by_group.json
- Table 6, figure "fmd_age_by_income" (JSON): https://vishalsingh.org/zipcode/report/mental-distress-in-young-adults/figures/fmd_age_by_income.json
- Table 7, figure "fmd_vs_diagnosis" (JSON): https://vishalsingh.org/zipcode/report/mental-distress-in-young-adults/figures/fmd_vs_diagnosis.json
- Index of every report: https://vishalsingh.org/zipcode/llms.txt; all reports in one file: https://vishalsingh.org/zipcode/llms-full.txt