Medical Debt Delays Care for Those With Depression, Anxiety

Medical debt significantly affects US adults with depression and anxiety, with over 27% delaying or forgoing mental health care. Those burdened with medical debt are twice as likely to delay or skip care compared with those without debt.Researchers analyzed 2022 data from the National Health Interview Survey , a cross-sectional, nationally representative survey of the civilian, noninstitutionalized US adult population.

Lifetime depression was measured by asking participants if they had ever been diagnosed with any type of depression, including major depressive disorder, bipolar depression, dysthymia, postpartum depression, and seasonal affective disorder. Current depression and anxiety were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire 8 and Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 scales, with a cutoff score of ≥ 10 indicating moderate to severe symptoms.Among 27,651 adults, 18.2% reported lifetime depression, 7.3% reported current depression, 17.7% reported lifetime anxiety, and 6.6% reported current anxiety.

Among adults with current depression, 27.3% had medical debt, compared with 9.4% of those without current depression. For current anxiety, 26.2% had medical debt, compared with 9.6% without.

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