Young women pose highest mental health risk, data shows

According to new statistics from NHS Digital, young women are more at risk of developing a common mental health disorder (CMD) than men.

The data showed that for 2014, one in five women reported having a CMD, compared with one in eight men. It indicated that young women also had high rates of self-harm and post-traumatic stress and bipolar disorders.

The National Study of Health and Wellbeing has been carried out every seven years since 1993.

The latest report examined 7,500 members of the public, including 300 women aged 16-24.

In 1993 19 per cent of 16-to-24-year-old women surveyed reported symptoms of CMD compared with eight per cent of men of the same age.

In a snapshot, 26 per cent of women aged 16-24 reported symptoms of common mental disorders in one week, compared to nine per cent of men in the same age group.

The figures suggested that women aged 16-24 were three times as likely to report symptoms of anxiety and depression compared to men.

Stephen Buckley, head of information at the mental health charity Mind, said: "Young people are coming of working age in times of economic uncertainty. They're more likely to experience issues associated with debt, unemployment and poverty, and they are up against increasing social and environmental pressures, all of which affect well-being.

“It can help people feel less isolated, particularly those who struggle to make and maintain relationships or who find it difficult to leave their homes.

"But it also comes with some risks. Its instantaneous and anonymous nature means it's easy for people to make hasty and sometimes ill-advised comments that can negatively affect other people's mental health."

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: "We want to make sure that everyone, regardless of gender, age or background, gets the mental health treatment they need."