HealthDay (3/19, Reinberg) reports that according to a study published online March 17 in the journal Pediatrics, “nearly 10 percent of children hospitalized in America are there because of a mental health problem.” After analyzing “data from the Kids’ Inpatient Database and Pediatric Health Information System to look at all hospital discharges in 2009 for patients aged three to 20,” researchers found that the majority of kids hospitalized for mental illness appeared to “suffer from depression, bipolar disorder or psychosis.”
Older children were more likely than younger children to be hospitalized. The study also noted that the shortage of pediatric mental health professionals, including psychiatrists, makes it more difficult to treat youngsters with serious mental health issues.
Related Links:
— “Mental Illness to Blame for 10 Percent of Kids’ Hospitalizations: Study,” Steven Reinberg, HealthDay, March 18, 2014.