Mental Health Trends in the United Kingdom, 1991–2025: A Time-Series Analysis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5708/EJMH.21.2026.0063Keywords:
time trends, secular change, mental health, United Kingdom, crisisAbstract
Introduction: There is ongoing debate regarding increasing trends in mental health symptoms, particularly among younger people.
Aim: This study examined mental health trends in the United Kingdom from 1991 to 2025.
Methods: Calendar-year aggregated data from 120,001 participants in the nationally representative Understanding Society survey, including the British Household Panel Survey and the UK Household Longitudinal Study, were analyzed. Mental health symptoms were measured using the GHQ-12.
Results: Mental health symptoms increased from 1991 to 1996, remained relatively stable from 1997 to 2013, and increased thereafter, with the steepest rise around the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Post-2020 scores remained elevated. Although the BEAST-fitted trend was slightly upward, a complementary discontinuity model found no statistically significant slope in the final segment. The timing and direction of some trends differed by gender and age. Among participants aged 16–24 years, symptoms showed a gradual upward trend from 1991 to 2014. The posterior probability of a three-changepoint solution was 99.6% in the full sample, with greater uncertainty in subgroup analyses.
Conclusions: Mental health symptoms increased from the mid-2010s and rose particularly sharply around the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. These patterns may be consistent with contextual influences, including austerity and the pandemic.
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Published 2026-10-12
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