Covid, Brexit and Liz Truss mini-budget led to lasting decline in mental health, study finds

The study estimated that the first Covid lockdown led to an increase in mental ill-health that was equivalent to about 900,000 more people seeking a GP’s help for symptoms of depression. Photograph: Anna Gowthorpe/PA

Brexit, Liz Truss’s mini-budget and other “shocks” over the last 10 years have led to a serious and lasting deterioration in the UK population’s mental health, research has found.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the first and second Covid lockdowns also triggered big rises in psychological distress, as measured by the number of people with depression and anxiety.