1 In 5 Young Adults Feel Anxiety Every Single Day, Study Says

MONDAY, Oct. 26, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Nearly 1 in 5 young adults in the U.S. feel anxious every single day, a new study says.

Just under 20% of Americans between 18 and 25 said they suffered from daily anxiety in 2024, up from 15% in 2020, researchers report in the American Journal of Public Health.

The odds of receiving an anxiety diagnosis or a prescription for anxiety meds also rose by roughly a third during the same period, researchers found.

This anxiety might stem from the COVID-19 pandemic and its lasting impact on the psyche of Americans, researchers said.

“The increase in anxiety in the 2024 cohort compared with the 2020 cohort requires public health attention on the potential long-term pandemic effects on young adult mental health,” concluded the research team led by Melissa Villodas, an assistant professor of social work at George Mason University.

For the study, researchers analyzed data from nearly 11,000 young adults who participated in a federal health interview survey.

The analysis found that the odds of feeling frequent anxiety increased by 28% between 2020 and 2024.

Likewise, the odds of an anxiety diagnosis increased by 31% and use of anti-anxiety drugs by 32%, researchers found.

Overall, anxiety diagnoses increased from 18% to more than 23%, and prescriptions for anxiety meds increased from 10% to more than 13%.

“Anxiety remains a growing concern among U.S. young adults,” researchers wrote. “This group already experienced the most rapid prepandemic rise in anxiety and is developmentally vulnerable to poor mental health.”

The team continued: “Our study spans the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic through its documented end as a global threat, a period marked by widespread stressors such as loneliness, economic instability, infection-related worry and disruptions to key life transitions (e.g., entering college or the workforce).”

Some groups were more likely to suffer anxiety:

• Nearly half of lesbian, gay and bisexual young adults reported an anxiety diagnosis — nearly 45%, compared with 19% of their heterosexual peers. Prescriptions for anxiety meds doubled from 13% to 26%, compared to an increase from 9% to 10% for heterosexual young adults.

• About 32% of women reported a diagnosis of anxiety, compared to 15% of men. About 1 in 4 women reported daily anxiety, and 1 in 5 took anxiety meds.

• Hispanic lesbian, gay and bisexual young adults had about 4.7 times higher odds of taking anxiety meds compared to their straight Hispanic peers.

“Rather than assuming that all young adults experience anxiety in the same way, these findings underscore the importance of considering the multiple social identities and contexts that shape experiences with anxiety,” Villodas said.

More information

The American Psychological Association has more on anxiety.

SOURCES: George Mason University, news release, Oct. 21, 2026; American Journal of Public Health, Aug. 20, 2026