Main Category: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Also Included In: Psychology / Psychiatry; ADHD; Mental Health
Article Date: 19 May 2013 - 0:00 PDT Current ratings for:
In US, 20% Of Children Have A Mental Disorder
Nearly 20% of children in the United States suffer from a mental disorder, and the number has been increasing for over a decade, according to a new report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The report covered the topic of mental disorders among children aged 3 to 17 for the first time. The investigators found that childhood mental illnesses affect up to one in five children and cost close to $247 billion per year in medical expenses, juvenile justice, and special education.
An earlier report from 2009 reported that the costs of treating mental illness reached $8.9 billion in 2006, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
Childhood mental disorders are defined as serious changes in the ways children handle their emotions, learn, or behave. Symptoms generally begin in early childhood, but some may develop during adolescence.
Often diagnoses are made during school years or even earlier. Earlier research has suggested that children with mental disorders were three times more likely to be identified as bullies
Mental health is critical to overall health. Mental disorders are conditions that can last throughout an entire life. Without treatment and early diagnosis these conditions can lead to problems at school, home, and in developing friendships.The current report was developed in collaboration with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), and Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). It outlines federal causes on monitoring mental disorders and provides estimates on the number of children with certain mental disorders.
The researchers examined data from several sources covering the period 2005-2011. The report also suggests a few indicators of mental health such as unhealthy days and suicide.
The report revealed that ADHD was the most prevalent current diagnosis among children aged 3 to 17 years. The number of kids with a mental disorder rose with age, except autism spectrum disorders - which were highest among 6 to 11 year old children.
Males were more likely than females to have ADHD, autism spectrum disorders, Tourette syndrome, cigarette dependence, behavioral or conduct problems, and anxiety. Boys aged 12 to 17 years were at a greater risk of dying by suicide than girls. Girls were more likely than boys to have depression or an alcohol misuse disorder.
Children ranging in age from 3 to 17 years had: ADHD (6.8%)Conduct or Behavioral Problems (3.5%)Anxiety (3.0%)Depression (2.1%)Autism spectrum disorders (1.1%)Tourette syndrome (0.2% among children 6-17 years old)Adolescents aged 12 to 17 years had: Illicit drug use disorder in the last year (4.7%)Alcohol use disorder in the last year (4.2%)Cigarette dependence in the last month (2.8%)These findings suggest that mental health is a significant component of public health. The goal now is to develop improved methods on how to document children who have mental disorders, better understand these disorders, and implement and recommend treatment and intervention strategies.Written by Kelly Fitzgerald
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today
MLA
3 Jun. 2013.
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posted by Anna on 21 May 2013 at 10:15 am
I think what the article means is not 'In US, 20% of children have mental disorder', but instead, 'we have invented mental disorders with thresholds that implicate 20% of US children'. That is not to say that mental disorder is medically fabricated in totality, but it seems that biomedical opinions of mental health are given undue authority to label children (and adults) with mental conditions.
Surely it is evident that social impacts have a much greater influence in the development of what is considered a 'mental illness' as there is no convincing evidence of a biological cause for mental health problems. In regards to this, there remain pertinent questions as to medical approaches of labelling patients, particularly children and adolescents.
In this sense, the report is truly astounding. How can 'cigarette dependence' and 'alcohol use disorder' be considered a mental disorder?! The threshold for those perceived as 'mentally ill' has been lowered so considerably that we can surely all be considered mentally unstable.
This article should not considered credible, instead I'd suggest it to be considered as farcical.
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posted by td helder on 19 May 2013 at 1:45 pm
This report is full of crap. What most of these kids suffer from is a complete lack of parents who know/care what their doing. They sit there telling their little hellion to stop, and when the brat ignores them they say "Oh it's not my parenting, he has (insert problem here)"
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posted by John on 19 May 2013 at 7:00 am
'In US, 20% Of Children Have A Mental Disorder' - and we're working overtime to invent conditions (and persuade others to vote them into being diseases!). Our goal is 120% with a disorder. Oh, sorry, that should be 100%. You know how precise us soft science people are.
Question: if you can vote a "condition" into being a disease, why can't you vote a disease into just being a (non-lethal) condition? For instance; heart failure, diabetes, gun shots wounds, old age.
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