One in three young women in Britain experienced depression over the summer, figures suggest.

Some 32% of women aged 16-29 and a fifth of men of the same age reported symptoms of depression between July 21 and August 15, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

Overall, 17% of adults experienced some form of depression – a fall since early 2021 but still above pre-pandemic levels.

As well as young adults, people who are disabled, clinically extremely vulnerable, unemployed or unable to afford an unexpected expense were more likely to experience depression.

Tim Vizard, head of the ONS policy evidence and analysis team, said: “Today’s data shows that while there has been a fall in the proportion of adults experiencing some form of depression, levels are still above where they were pre-pandemic.

“Younger adults, women and disabled people are more likely to experience some form of depression, along with the unemployed and those unable to afford an unexpected expense.”

The analysis is based on pooled data covering 13,774 adults who were surveyed during four waves of the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey (OPN).

The ONS said depression peaked during the early 2021 national lockdown at 21%, before falling to 17% from the end of March, with levels since remaining stable.

Prior to the pandemic, one in 10 adults had depression.

Disabled adults were more than four times as likely than non-disabled adults to experience depression over summer 2021 (36% versus 8%).

Unemployed adults were twice as likely to experience depression as someone who was employed or self-employed (31% versus 15%).

The same was the case for adults living in the most deprived parts of England, with 24% experiencing depression compared to 12% of adults in the least deprived areas.

Of adults experiencing some form of depression, almost three quarters (74%) reported that the coronavirus pandemic was affecting their wellbeing.