{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,2]],"date-time":"2026-10-02T07:54:23Z","timestamp":1790927663920,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":62,"publisher":"Cambridge University Press (CUP)","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,2]],"date-time":"2026-10-02T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1790899200000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":274,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["cambridge.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Psychol. Med."],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"S0033291726106072_sec1\">\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Information from large national surveys is potentially useful for examining trends in mental health, but prior research has obtained inconsistent findings. This study attempts to determine whether Kessler 6 and Patient Health Questionnaire measures from different surveys consistently indicate trends in serious psychological distress or depression.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"S0033291726106072_sec2\" sec-type=\"methods\">\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Annual rates of serious psychological distress or depression were computed for 18- to 64-year-olds from 2004 to 2019 or sub-periods from four major household surveys based on values of Kessler 6, Patient Health Questionnaire 2, and Patient Health Questionnaire 9 scales. The observed trends were then compared to those from four potential consequences of poor mental health.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"S0033291726106072_sec3\" sec-type=\"results\">\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      The potential consequences of poor mental health increased over time, as did serious psychological distress measured by the Kessler K6 in the\n                      <jats:italic>National Health Interview Survey<\/jats:italic>\n                      and\n                      <jats:italic>National Survey on Drug Use and Health<\/jats:italic>\n                      , and serious depression using Patient Health Questionnaire 2 and 9 data from the\n                      <jats:italic>National Health and Examination Survey.<\/jats:italic>\n                      Conversely, rates of serious psychological distress\/depression, proxied by Kessler 6 and Patient Health Questionnaire 2 scores from the\n                      <jats:italic>Medical Expenditure Panel Survey<\/jats:italic>\n                      fell sharply after 2012.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"S0033291726106072_sec4\" sec-type=\"conclusions\">\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The mental health of prime-age US adults almost certainly deteriorated from 2004 to 2019 but, when based on Kessler 6 and Patient Health Questionnaire scales, the results from some high-quality national household surveys indicated the opposite trends, exhibited substantial year-to-year variation, or had large confidence intervals. This highlights the need for considerable care in estimating trends in serious psychological distress or depression, even when using high-quality surveys.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1017\/s0033291726106072","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,2]],"date-time":"2026-10-02T07:15:44Z","timestamp":1790925344000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1017\/policypage","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Estimating trends in serious psychological distress and depression among 18- to 64-year-olds in the United States from 2004 to 2019 using K6 and PHQ scales"],"prefix":"10.1017","volume":"56","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0591-0479","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Christopher","family":"Ruhm","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/0153tk833","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"University of Virginia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"56","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,2]]},"reference":[{"key":"S0033291726106072_r15","article-title":"Suicide mortality in the United States, 2002\u20132022","author":"Garnett","year":"2024","journal-title":"NCHS Data Brief"},{"key":"S0033291726106072_r43","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.7326\/M23-2824"},{"key":"S0033291726106072_r19","volume-title":"Comparison of NSDUH mental health data and methods with other data sources","author":"Hedden","year":"2012"},{"key":"S0033291726106072_r30","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/aje\/kwq257"},{"key":"S0033291726106072_r48","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jhealeco.2025.103015"},{"key":"S0033291726106072_r11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1257\/aer.115.5.1369"},{"key":"S0033291726106072_r25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1001\/jamanetworkopen.2023.21959"},{"key":"S0033291726106072_r34","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1037\/pas0000915"},{"key":"S0033291726106072_r20","first-page":"1","article-title":"Issues in developing a surveillance case definition for nonfatal suicide attempt and intentional self-harm using international classification of diseases, tenth revision, clinical modification (ICD-10-CM) coded data","author":"Hedegaard","year":"2018","journal-title":"National Health Statistics Reports"},{"key":"S0033291726106072_r58","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1097\/00005650-199603000-00003"},{"key":"S0033291726106072_r54","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-019-47322-1"},{"key":"S0033291726106072_r33","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1001\/jama.2020.6504"},{"key":"S0033291726106072_r50","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1001\/jama.282.18.1737"},{"key":"S0033291726106072_r4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1176\/appi.ajp.20230397"},{"key":"S0033291726106072_r24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jad.2021.11.027"},{"key":"S0033291726106072_r22","volume-title":"User note\u2014Sample design","year":"n.d."},{"key":"S0033291726106072_r28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s00127-019-01697-8"},{"key":"S0033291726106072_r31","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1046\/j.1525-1497.2001.016009606.x"},{"key":"S0033291726106072_r10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3368\/jhr.0423-12854R1"},{"key":"S0033291726106072_r6","first-page":"1","article-title":"Prevalence of depression among adults aged 20 and over: United States, 2013\u20132016","author":"Brody","year":"2018","journal-title":"NCHS Data Brief"},{"key":"S0033291726106072_r18","volume-title":"The anxious generation: How the great rewiring of childhood is causing an epidemic of mental illness","author":"Haidt","year":"2024"},{"key":"S0033291726106072_r45","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/hec.4633"},{"key":"S0033291726106072_r27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1001\/archpsyc.60.2.184"},{"key":"S0033291726106072_r35","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/pam.22526"},{"key":"S0033291726106072_r7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1353\/eca.2017.0005"},{"key":"S0033291726106072_r46","unstructured":"Owens, P. 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