Fact Check Team: Studies reveal how mental health affects different genders
by KONNER MCINTIRE | The National Desk
JULY 18, 2023 – A ribbon-cutting was held on Tuesday, July 18, 2023, for a new mental health hospital in South Asheville. The 120 bed facility, owned and operated by Mission Health, will provide treatment to all age groups beginning at 4 years old and extending all the way through the geriatric years, providing separate indoor and outdoor facilities for both. (Photo credit: WLOS Staff)
WASHINGTON (TND) —
In recent years, mental health concerns have increasingly come to the forefront, bringing awareness to a previously overlooked issue. Studies have revealed disparities in how mental health affects different genders.
According to a report the CDC released in 2023, girls have been significantly more likely than boys to experience feelings of sadness or hopelessness, with 57% of girls reporting such feelings compared to 29% of boys in 2021. Additionally, girls are twice as likely as boys to consider or attempt suicide.
However, studies from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have found adolescent boys and grown men are nearly three to four times more likely than young girls or women to die by suicide. Despite this, males are diagnosed with depression and mood disorders at much lower rates.
While mental health issues in girls have been extensively documented, the same cannot be said for boys. Experts from the American Institute for Boys and Men suggest that the current approach to measuring mental health may be more accurate for girls than boys, as research has predominantly focused on issues like eating disorders, anxiety, self-harm, and toxic social media use, which are more common among girls. However, mental health issues manifest differently in males, particularly in areas that have not been heavily researched, such as aggression, risk-taking, problematic gaming, exposure to violent pornography, or compulsive online gambling.
JULY%2018,%202023%20-%20A%20ribbon-cutting%20was%20held%20on%20Tuesday,%20July%2018,%202023,%20for%20a%20new%20mental%20health%20hospital%20in%20South%20Asheville.%20The%20120%20bed%20facility,%20owned%20and%20operated%20by%20Mission%20Health,%20will%20provide%20treatment%20to%20all%20age%20groups%20beginning%20at%204%20years%20old%20and%20extending%20all%20the%20way%20through%20the%20geriatric%20years,%20providing%20separate%20indoor%20and%20outdoor%20facilities%20for%20both.%20(Photo%20credit:%20WLOS%20Staff)
Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated mental health challenges for both young men and women. While the number of people between the ages of 12 and 25 getting antidepressants was already growing before the pandemic, there was a surge in the prescription of drugs to manage mental health issues after COVID-19.
Studies from the journal Pediatrics have shown a significant increase in antidepressant prescriptions among individuals aged 12 to 25, with rates growing 63.5% faster than normal post-pandemic. However, the increase in prescriptions differs between genders, with a sharp rise observed among teenage girls (130%) and women in their twenties (60%) after March 2020. In contrast, antidepressant dispensing rates for male adolescents declined abruptly during the same period and have not yet recovered.
The reasons behind these gender disparities in mental health and antidepressant prescriptions need further research to understand the root cause of why men are not seeking medication at a higher rate.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org for free, confidential support.
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