Mental health diagnoses among children are on the rise

The “How’s school going?” portion of kids’ pediatric checkups is starting to carry a lot more weight.

Mental health concerns brought up during routine pediatric care visits for kids have jumped sharply over the past decade, according to a new study published this week in JAMA Network Open.

The analysis used health insurance claims for nearly all insured children in Massachusetts between 2014-23, with a final sample of ~1.8 million kids.

Here’s what they found

Visits tied to anxiety-related diagnoses rose by more than 250% over the study period, while overall pediatric visits involving mental health concerns rose by over 70% (from 5.7% of visits to 9.7%).

• ADHD remained the most commonly addressed condition in pediatric primary care, rising to 6.7% of visits from 5.0%.
• Diagnoses involving autism spectrum disorder (+300%), trauma (+100%), and depression (+33%) also showed significant increases.

But…Researchers say the spike doesn’t necessarily mean childhood mental health disorders rose at the same pace. Increased screening, greater awareness among parents, and earlier recognition by doctors likely all played a role, alongside pandemic-era stress that intensified many kids’ emotional and behavioral struggles.

Big picture: Nearly 50% of US children with mental health disorders go untreated, per the CDC, with the most common roadblocks including financial costs, appointment shortages, and a lack of experienced local providers.