;Resize=(1200,627)&impolicy=perceptual&quality=mediumHigh&hash=8ccb24a72040f683ec4262c31de5a8e5ea2bd21861a455734c9700fa509d973a "Mental disorders: More and more minors are being diagnosed with depression")
If a child from the age of ten is in the hospital, in every 20th case the reason is depression. However, among all minors in therapy, another disorder is more common.
Mental disorders are the most common reason for children and adolescents between the ages of 10 and 17 to be hospitalized. As reported by the Federal Statistical Office, more than 426,000 minors aged 10 and over were treated in hospital in 2021. In around 81,000 cases – almost a fifth – the cause was a mental illness or behavioral disorder; in girls even in almost a quarter of the cases. This is closely followed by injuries and poisoning with around 80,000 cases. The proportion of mental and behavioral disorders has been increasing for several years. In 2011 they accounted for only 13 percent; in the pre-corona year 2019 it was already 16 percent, in 2021 it was already 19 percent.
New diagnoses of depressive disorders rose by a good quarter from 2019 to 2021
The most common diagnosis when mentally ill 10 to 17-year-olds stay in hospital are depressive episodes: in 2021, almost 22,000 were inpatients for this reason. In second and third place came alcohol-related disorders such as abuse, dependency, poisoning or withdrawal syndrome with a good 9000 cases and stress and adjustment disorders after difficult events or changes in life with almost 8000 cases.
Depressed children and adolescents are not only an issue in clinics. The Central Institute for Statutory Health Insurance Physician Care (Zi) in Berlin evaluated the billing data of twelve million insured persons aged 0 to 17 and found that new diagnoses of depressive disorders rose by a good quarter to 70,000 from 2019 to 2021, including around three quarters of girls. The numbers of the much rarer anorexia even climbed by three quarters to almost 7000 cases, more than nine out of ten girls. Boys suffer more often from behavioral and emotional disorders such as ADHD, tics and stuttering, although the trend is declining. Boys are also in the majority when it comes to developmental disabilities. The most common psychodiagnosis in minors – with more than 410,000 cases – are developmental disorders of speech and language. Those affected do not speak or understand language in a way that corresponds to their intelligence and without a cause such as hearing loss being identifiable.
“In some cases significant deterioration” in the mental health of children and adolescents
“Our results are largely consistent with other findings that indicate an increased occurrence of depressive, eating and anxiety disorders in particular during the course of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic,” writes the group led by epidemiologist Claudia Kohring. In a press release, the Central Institute speaks of a “sometimes significant deterioration” in the mental health of children and young people. The numbers could be even higher, due to the fact that it is difficult for those affected to get a place in therapy.
However, it cannot be deduced from the available data whether mental illnesses actually occur more frequently in children or whether they simply receive help more frequently. The Zi itself refers to a study that observed more treatments between 2003 and 2017, but “relatively constant” mental health problems. This suggests that more and more children and young people in need of care are being treated, so that the proportion of diagnoses is approaching the proportion of diseases. Nevertheless, due to bottlenecks in the supply, an unreported number can still be assumed.