Age moderates the relationship between psychedelics use and mental health in naturalistic settings
Research Square March 10, 2026 Giammarco di Gregorio, Sophia Basset, Harjot Manmohan et al.
Depression and anxiety affect one in five adults, with age influencing prevalence. A cross-sectional survey of 1,088 adults aged 18–55+ years examined how lifetime use of classic psychedelics (e.g., psilocybin, LSD), non-classic psychedelics (e.g., MDMA, ketamine), or both relates to mental health. Age significantly moderated these relationships: classic psychedelic use was linked to lower depression and anxiety among younger adults, but these benefits diminished with age and even reversed for anxiety in older participants. These age-related effects persisted regardless of dosage, frequency, or recency of use and were moderated by mystical experiences for depression but not anxiety. Age may be a meaningful moderator of mental health outcomes from psychedelic use, highlighting the need for age-stratified research to optimize psychedelic-assisted interventions.