The New York Times (3/7, Richtel ) reports, “Increasingly, doctor visits by adolescents and young adults involve mental health diagnoses, along with the prescription of psychiatric medications.” A new study published in JAMA Network Open “found that in 2019, 17 percent of outpatient doctor visits for patients ages 13 to 24 in the United States involved a behavioral or mental health condition, including anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, self-harm or other issues.” That result was up “sharply from 2006, when just 9 percent of doctor’s visits involved psychiatric illnesses.” Additionally, “in 2019, 22.4 percent of outpatient visits by the 13-24 age group involved the prescription of at least one psychiatric drug, up from 13 percent in 2006.”
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— “The New York Times (requires login and subscription)