Millennials' health: 5 not-so-cheerful trends
Millennials' health continues to decline, driven by behavioral health conditions.
Millennial health continues to decline, driven largely by six behavioral health conditions, according to a new report from the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. Notable increases over the past year include a 12% increase in major depression, a 7% increase in alcohol use disorder and a 5% increase in tobacco use disorder and substance use disorder.
Related: Millennials’ health problems taking an economic toll
According to the report, the COVID-19 pandemic is taking a greater toll on millennials than other generations, with 92% reporting a negative impact. In comparison, just 70% of Baby Boomers have said the pandemic has affected their mental health.
Other key findings include:
Behavioral health conditions continue to rise.
An additional year of data shows a continued downward trend in millennial health over a five-year period. Rates of behavioral health conditions continue to rise, contributing to a large number of years of healthy life lost. Rates of major depression, alcohol use disorder, tobacco use disorder, substance use disorder and ADHD rose again from 2017 to 2018.
Behavioral health conditions increase risk for chronic physical conditions.
To quantify the link between behavioral and chronic physical health conditions, researchers analyzed the medical claims of millennials with five years of continuous health plan coverage. Those with ongoing behavioral health conditions since 2014 were approximately twice as likely to have chronic physical conditions such as hypertension, Crohn’s disease, Type II diabetes or coronary heart disease as their peers without a behavioral health diagnosis.
Black and Hispanic millennials are less likely to be diagnosed with behavioral health conditions.
Compared to millennials in majority-white communities, members of majority-Black or Hispanic communities have substantially lower diagnosis rates of behavioral health conditions. The large differences may come down to underdiagnosis in communities of color, not necessarily the absence of behavioral health conditions. Underdiagnosis can occur for a number of reasons, including a lack of understanding of cultural differences, stigma around diagnosis or treatment, and barriers to accessing behavioral health specialists.
Millennials with opioid use disorder have worse overall health.
Substance use disorder has the third-highest impact on millennials’ health, just behind major depression and hypertension. Millennials with an opioid use disorder diagnosis are more likely to have adverse health events such as ER visits and hospitalizations, and they have much higher prevalence rates of pain-related conditions, behavioral health conditions and cardiovascular conditions.
More millennials are receiving opioid use disorder treatments than older generations, but they are disproportionately white.
Nearly two-thirds of millennials diagnosed with opioid use disorder received treatment in 2018, compared to less than half of Gen Xers and less than a third of Baby Boomers. More than 60% of millennials are receiving treatment, with 16% receiving both MAT and BT, the current evidence-based recommended standard for treatment.
“The implications of the health challenges millennials face touch us all,” researchers concluded. “Addressing this decline in health, including the disproportionate burden of disease experienced by particular groups, is urgent in light of the continued downward trend in well-being.”
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