Europeans are reporting worse physical and mental health 

There is a higher risk of depression among people who report their health as being 'bad' or 'very bad', the data show, with young people being particularly vulnerable.

The number of people across Europe in bad health has doubled since the Covid-19 pandemic began, increasing even after lockdown measures were long ended.

As well as general health, mental health has also declined throughout the pandemic, especially among young people.

The Living and Working With Covid series by the Dublin-based EU agency Eurofound, the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, involved the input of 200,000 citizens across the bloc.

The number of people reporting "bad" or "very bad" health more than doubled between 2020 and 2022. 

Despite the lifting of most lockdown measures in early 2022 as the pandemic subsided, the number of people reporting "bad" or "very bad" health continued to increase, from 7.9% in March 2021 to 12.7% in March 2022, Eurofound said.

Higher risk of depression

Accordingly, there is a higher risk of depression among people who report their health as being "bad" or "very bad", the data show, with young people being particularly vulnerable.

"In March 2022, the average level of mental wellbeing in the EU was 47 — a slight improvement on the level recorded in 2021 (45), but still below the level measured at the start of the pandemic (49). The pandemic and its related restriction measures have been associated with a decline in mental wellbeing, particularly for young people," Eurofound said.

The number is based on a World Health Organization index from one to 100 measuring mental health.

The current cost-of-living crisis engulfing the EU is impacting on people's mental wellbeing and health, the data show.

"More people are struggling to make ends meet and are at greater risk of energy poverty. While many respondents expressed concern about their ability to pay utility bills in the next three months (28%), this worry was greatest among those who experienced difficulty making ends meet (45%), and worse still for those financially vulnerable households who are already in arrears (74%)," Eurofound said.

Uncertainty about the future could continue to have a negative impact on mental health, it warned.

There is also a backlog in mental healthcare, with a third of young people having their needs unmet.