Prevalence, time trends, and correlates of major depressive episode and other psychiatric conditions among young people amid major social unrest and COVID-19 in Hong Kong: a representative epidemiological study from 2019 to 2022.

Background: Hong Kong is among the many populations that has experienced the combined impacts of social unrest and the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite concerns about further deteriorations in youth mental health globally, few epidemiological studies have been conducted to examine the prevalence and correlates of major depressive episode (MDE) and other major psychiatric disorders across periods of population-level changes using diagnostic interviews.

Methods: We conducted a territory-wide household-based epidemiological study from 2019 to 2022 targeting young people aged 15-24 years.