Only about a quarter of moms in the United States say they have "excellent" bodies and Mental Healthaccording to a new study.

The study, published Tuesday in JAMA Internal Medicine, looked at 417 mothers aged 198 and 417 children aged 17 and under, and found that self-reported maternal mental health and physical health declines from 2016 to 2023 were small.

Health outcomes are measured on a four-point scale, including excellent, good, fair/poor.

The prevalence of “excellent” mental health decreased from 38.4% to 25.8% over the time frame of the study. "Good" mental health rose from 18.8% to 26.1%, and "fair/poor" mental health rose from 5.5% to 8.5%.

The prevalence of "excellent" health has dropped from 28.0% to 23.9%. The study found that “good” physical health rose from 24.3% to 28.1%, while “fair/poor” physical health did not change significantly.

The authors noted: “The decline in mental health declines in all socioeconomic subgroups; however, there are significant decreases in psychological and physical health for single female parents, those with lower education and those with open insurance children.”

The study also looked at changes between male parents and found a decline in physical and mental health over the same eight-year study period – but overall, their health scores were better than women.

For example, in 2023, the prevalence of "fair/poor" mental health is 4 percentage points higher than that of male parents.

This is not the first time that parents' mental health has attracted attention. last year, Former American surgeon Dr. Vivek Murthy Call for a change in national attitudes to parenting and care and in consultation entitled “Parents under stress”.

"The work of parenting is crucial not only to the health of the child, but also to the health of society. In addition, we know that the well-being of parents and caregivers is directly related to the well-being of the child," Morsi wrote in the consultation.

As the study authors pointed out, their findings are consistent with the increase in proof Depression and anxiety Among women in pregnancy and reproductive eras The general population of the United States.

"Our findings support the claim that maternal mortality may be the canary in coal mines, more broadly," they wrote.

While more research is needed to identify specific causes of mental health decline, the authors say leading theories include access to mental health care, social isolation, drug use disorders, and wider stressors, from inflation and racism to gun violence to gun violence and climate change.