The New York Times (5/18, Barry) reports that a “study of insurance claims for 1.8 million children found that the number of families raising mental health issues at visits to general practitioners rose sharply over a decade, with anxiety by far the fastest-growing complaint.” According to the study, “the number of pediatric visits rose to 9.7 percent in 2023 from 5.7 percent in 2014.” Researchers noted that “visits for anxiety rose by more than 250 percent during that period, to 6.1 percent in 2023 from 1.7 percent in 2014.” Additionally, “smaller increases were seen for attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder…which rose to 6.7 percent from 5.0 percent; depression, which rose to 1.6 percent from 1.2 percent over the same period; autism spectrum disorder, which rose to 2.0 percent from 0.5 percent; and trauma, which rose to 1.6 percent from 0.8 percent.” The study was discussed in a JAMA Network Open research letter.
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— The New York Times (requires login and subscription)