By India McCarty
A new Gallup survey revealed that American adults have a serious problem with depression.
“The percentage of U.S. adults who report currently having or being treated for depression has exceeded 18% in both 2024 and 2025, up about eight percentage points since the initial measurement in 2015,” Gallup’s report noted. “The current rate of 18.3% measured so far in 2025 projects to an estimated 47.8 million Americans suffering from depression.”
Current depression rates have risen dramatically since 2017 among adults under the age of 30, doubling from 13.0% in 2017 to 26.7% in 2025. pic.twitter.com/sWo2fvI05y
— Gallup (@Gallup) September 12, 2025
Related: Evangelist Explains Why Gen Z Struggles With Depression. It Starts at Church.
Dr. Gerard Sanacora, a professor of psychiatry, director of Yale Depression Research Program and co-director of Yale New Haven Hospital Interventional Psychiatry Service at Yale University, told Newsweek, “The increase is alarming, and it is important that we keep an open mind and explore all possible causes for the rapid, and apparently sustained, rise in depression rates over the past decade.”
Sanacora explained that there are many factors that can increase a person’s likelihood of developing depression, such as “genetics, age, gender, and decline in general health,” as well as stressful life events.
“It is possible that some change in general health, for example related to long COVID or increased levels of obesity and metabolic disorders could be contributing to the increase,” he added but noted that the impact of these things “probably has not changed dramatically throughout the population in recent years.”
Something else that’s affecting these depression statistics? America’s ongoing loneliness epidemic.
Dr. David Mischoulon, director of the Depression Clinical and Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital and professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, told Newsweek loneliness levels have “gone up since the start of the pandemic.”
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy warned against the rising levels of loneliness, writing in a 2023 report that the feeling can lead to greater risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia, stroke, depression, anxiety and premature death.
“Given the profound consequences of loneliness and isolation, we have an opportunity, and an obligation, to make the same investments in addressing social connection that we have made in addressing tobacco use, obesity, and the addiction crisis,” he wrote.
While speaking on “The Oprah Podcast,” Murthy recommended people focus on three things to battle loneliness: relationships, service and community.
“When we focus on connecting to something bigger than ourselves, that’s actually when we find joy,” he said. “It’s why service is one of the most powerful antidotes to loneliness.”
Many Americans are struggling with feelings of depression, whether it’s because of genetic factors or a hard situation they’re going through. In hard times like these, it’s important to focus on connecting with others.
Read Next: Mark Zuckerberg Wants to Cure Loneliness Epidemic With…AI Chatbots?
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