• Jagdish Khubchandani, Sushil Sharma, Fern J Webb, Michael J Wiblishauser, and Sharon L Bowman.
• Department of Public Health Sciences, New Mexico State University, NM 88003, USA.
• J Public Health (Oxf). 2021 Jun 7; 43 (2): 246-253.

BackgroundThe mental health impact of the pandemic after the initial lockdowns has not been well studied in the USA. Thus, the purpose of this study was to conduct a comprehensive and systematic national assessment of the prevalence of depression and anxiety in the adult US population.MethodsA multi-item, valid and reliable questionnaire was deployed online via mTurk and social media sites to recruit adult US participants in the general population across the USA. A total of 1978 individuals participated in the study, where the majority were: females (51%), whites (74%), non-Hispanic (81%), married (56%), employed full time (68%) and with a bachelor's degree or higher (78%).ResultsThe prevalence of depression (39%), anxiety (42%) and psychological distress (39%) were computed from the PHQ-4 scale. In multiple regression analyses, depression, anxiety and psychological distress burden (assessed by PHQ-4 scale) was predicted significantly based on race, ethnicity, age, having children at home, employment as a healthcare worker, annual household income and area of residence. Males were more likely to have depression, and females were more likely to have anxiety symptoms.ConclusionsGiven the high prevalence of depression and anxiety, interdisciplinary and multisectoral approaches are recommended in the USA along with population-based interventions on mental health improvement.© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

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