In the wake of the pandemic, mental health has become more of a global concern. Last year, the World Health Organization urged “mental health decision makers and advocates to step up commitment and action to change attitudes, actions and approaches to mental health, its determinants and mental healthcare”.

This is especially true for the younger generations, who have been hit hard. But that’s not the only cause of rising levels of anxiety and depression observed in recent years, as a new study by researchers at University College London (UCL) suggests.

“In recent years, we have seen an increase in mental health problems among young people, so there has been an increased focus on how to support students,” said lead author Dr Gemma Lewis of the UCL psychiatry department.

“The first couple of years of higher education are a crucial time for development, so if we could improve the mental health of young people during this time, it could have long-term benefits for their health and well-being, as well as for their educational achievement and longer-term success.”

The researchers used data from two studies of young people in England: the first involved 4,832 participants born in 1989-1990, and therefore aged 18-19 in 2007-2009; and the second involved 6,128 participants born in 1998-1999, and therefore aged 18-19 in 2016-2018.

The observation periods correspond with the young people’s arrival (or not) at university or any other higher education institution – and, of course, predate the pandemic.

Just over half the sample attended higher education, and all participants completed various surveys on their mental health at different stages of the research.

Published in “The Lancet Public Health”, the study identified “a small increased risk of depression and anxiety” in participants in higher education, compared with those not attending these education establishments.

The scientists also point out that this risk persisted after adjustment for factors such as socioeconomic status, parents’ education, and alcohol consumption.

“We would have expected higher education students to have better mental health than their non-student peers as they tend to be from more privileged backgrounds on average, so these results are particularly concerning,” said study first author Dr Tayla McCloud.

An important detail highlighted by the researchers is that the difference in anxiety and depression levels between graduates and non-graduates tends to diminish over the years. The study suggests that the difference had even completely disappeared by the age of 25.

This is a point to bear in mind when seeking to understand the factors behind this rise in anxiety, but also to avoid discouraging young people from pursuing higher education. All the more so since, at this stage, the researchers have no explanation for this phenomenon, although they do suggest some possible hypotheses.

“Based on our findings, we cannot say why students might be more at risk of depression and anxiety than their peers, but it could be related to academic or financial pressure,” McCloud pointed out.

“This increased risk among students has not been found in studies in the past, so if the association has only recently emerged, it may be related to increased financial pressures and worries about achieving high results in the wider economic and social context.

“Improving our understanding of modifiable risk factors for depression and anxiety is a global health priority, and it is clear that supporting the mental health of our young people is vital,” she added.

Notably, while these results are based on UK findings, the global impact of the pandemic suggests that these findings could be relevant with young people across the world.

Financial pressure?

These findings echo other data, recently published by King’s College London, showing a significant rise in mental health issues among students. In detail, 6% of undergraduates at UK universities reported such difficulties in 2016-2017, compared with 16% in the 2022-2023 academic year.

“A significant part of this increase occurred in the last 12 months, a period during which the cost of living crisis intensified,” this report stated.

This observation is supported by the fact that this year, 8% of students considering abandoning their studies cited financial difficulties as the main reason, compared with 3.5% in 2022.