As many as one in five children aged 3 to 17 years old experiences a mental health disorder each year, according to a new report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
In the most comprehensive review of US children鈥檚 mental health yet, the CDC analysed data from 11 ongoing federal epidemiological surveys. Some of these are based on doctors鈥� diagnoses and prescriptions; others rely on telephone interviews with parents.
By analysing data from 2005 to 2011, that 13 to 20 per cent of children in the US have some type of mental health disorder annually. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) accounted for the highest number of diagnoses, with 6.8 per cent of children diagnosed with it each year. This was followed by behavioural problems, anxiety and depression.
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Most disorders were more prevalent in boys than girls, with the notable exceptions of alcohol use disorder and depression in female adolescents. The CDC estimates that mental health disorders cost the US$247 billion annually.
The report also found that suicide was the second most significant cause of death in 2010 among adolescents aged 12 to 17.
The US is frequently accused of over-diagnosing children with mental disorders, particularly ADHD and autism. But one reason that the numbers appear so high is that the report鈥檚 definition of mental health disorder is very broad, says William Graf of the Yale University School of Medicine.
This means it includes conditions such as tics alongside more classical mental health conditions such as depression. 鈥淚f you add it all up, one in five is not unreasonable,鈥� says Graf.
The CDC did not reply to requests for comment.
