In recent years, the number of sick leave due to mental health disorders among young adults has been on an exceptionally sharp increase.
Mental health disorders are clearly the biggest statistical reason for long sickness absences among young adults.
On Monday, Kela published an arresting graphic on Twitter. It shows the huge increase in the number of young adults receiving sickness benefits due to mental health disorders in recent years.
Young for adults, the growth curve has been exceptionally steep, says Kela’s research manager Jenni Blomgren.
“For young people, the growth has been long-lasting and stable – and especially steepened in recent years. In the age group of young adults, older age groups have been caught up in the share of those receiving mental health-based sickness allowances.”
Depressive disorders still cause the most mental health-related sick days.
“In the older age groups, there has been a decrease in depression curves in the last couple of years, but the depression curve in young people seems to continue to grow,” says Blomgren.
Sickness absences caused by anxiety disorders have also been on the rise in recent years.
For example, among women aged 16–34, the number of sickness benefit days paid based on anxiety disorders has increased almost fivefold between 2005 and 2021.
Mental health the number of young adults who received sickness allowance due to disorders seems to have exploded, especially after 2016.
The reasons for the steep growth are very multifaceted, says Blomgren. For example, the employment rate began to grow at that time. The increase in knowledge work also puts a strain on mental health.
“And certain young people can experience uncertainty about the future coming from different directions – you have to get a degree and get your foot in the door of working life, and at the same time there are threats floating around, such as climate change.”
On the other hand, the stigma attached to mental health disorders is smaller than before, and disorders are better recognized than before.
Expiring The overall statistics for the year will be completed at the beginning of next year. For example, the war situation in Europe or inflation and the accompanying burden caused by financial problems are not yet visible in last year’s statistics.
“If the same growth continues this year, we will again have additional factors on the list of speculations.”
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