The number of people taking prescription drugs for mental health in Utah has increased by 8% since January 2021, according to a new report.

The news: A new report from Quote Wizard by Loan Tree found that the pandemic fueled the increase in mental health prescriptions nationwide.

• Overall, 28 states saw a 10-50% increase in the number of people taking mental health medications in 2021.

Most: Arkansas, New Mexico and New York have seen the largest increases in the number of people taking mental health medication.

The least: Montana, Nevada and Hawaii have seen the largest declines in the number of people taking these drugs.

Utah Numbers: Utah has seen an 8% increase in the number of people taking prescription drugs for mental health over the past year.

• In general, about 27% of Utah’s population takes these drugs.

The method: Quote Wizard by Loan Tree discovered these results by analyzing data from the Pulse survey Centers for Disaster Control and Prevention. The data in this report is from January 2021 to October 15, 2021.

Do not forget : Utah, however, is home to one of the best cities for mental health. Salt Lake City ranked second best city in the country for Mental Health, as I reported for the Deseret News.

• Salt Lake City topped only Denver, Colo., as top cities for community well-being, number of residents with mental health care providers and total prescription costs, among other rankings.