Utah children were getting less depressed before the COVID pandemic

Utah was one of the few states where kids' rates of depression and anxiety have dropped from 2016 to 2020, according to a new report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

Why it matters: In 2016, Utah kids ages 3–17 had the nation's fifth-highest rate of anxiety and depression.

• Health experts consider mental health crises among children and teens to be a national emergency.

By the numbers: Utah's rates dropped .2% from 2016 to 2020.

• Only eight other states saw a decline during that time.

Yes, but: More than 13% of Utah kids experienced anxiety or depression in 2020 — above the national average of about 12%.

Meanwhile: More recent state data show a third of Utah's middle and high schoolers said they felt sad or hopeless in 2021, a sharply-rising trend in the state.

• Self-harm and thoughts of suicide also rose from 2017 to 2021.

The big picture: Anxiety and depression in American children rose across most of the nation in the period leading up to the onset of the pandemic, Axios' Tina Reed writes.