Can’t remember where you put your keys? Struggling to focus during meetings? You’re not alone—and the problem is getting worse.
A new U study reveals that rates of self-reported cognitive disability have nearly doubled among American adults under 40 over the past decade. By 2023, almost 1 in 10 young adults reported serious difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions due to a physical, mental, or emotional condition.
“I was shocked at first,” says Ka-Ho Wong BS’15, research associate of neuroimmunology at U of U Health and first author on the paper. “The younger population actually nearly doubled in terms of reporting cognitive disability.”
The study analyzed 4.5 million survey responses from 2013 to 2023. The sharpest increases appeared among people earning less than $35,000 per year and those with chronic health conditions.
Economic factors may be driving much of the rise, Wong suggests. “Economic stressors, like job market uncertainty and changes in work environments, could be a huge factor,” he says. “They induce stress, and stress could induce cognitive disability.” Decreased stigma around mental health could also make people more comfortable reporting difficulties.
The findings aren’t explained by COVID, either. The trend began years before the pandemic, with rates climbing since at least 2016.
Wong’s advice for anyone experiencing cognitive difficulties is straightforward. “Voice that to your health care specialist,” he says, “whether it’s your family doctor or anybody you see. Take it seriously.”
Early interventions like cognitive exercise, dietary changes, or managing physical health issues that can impact mental health might help reverse the trend.
I am a big fan of your magazine and look forward to it showing up in my mailbox.
It shocks me that the author of this column was shocked by these results; the answer (and in in my opinion, the obvious one) can be found in the book: “The Anxious Generation; How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness.” This book explains, in great detail and with many sited and/or performed studies, the answer to each question/mystery that was posed in this column. I could summarize it here but the book is the best way to get the full answer, however I will say that either COVID or economic reasons are each tertiary at best.