Treatment Rates for Mental Disorders among children and adolescents on the decline: JAMA

Anxiety, depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and behavior disorders, such as oppositional-defiant disorder and conduct disorders, are the most common mental disorders among children and adolescents. It is reported that 75% of psychiatric diseases diagnosed among adults had roots in childhood or adolescence hence early treatment has become crucial.

Reportedly studies have provided discordant results regarding treatment rates for mental disorders among youths. A recent meta analysis suggests that the treatment rates of mental disorders among children and adolescents were generally low, especially for depression and anxiety; targeted interventions are needed to improve this situation. The findings are published in JAMA Network.

Researchers searcherd PubMed, Web of Science, PsycINFO, Scopus, and Embase were searched from database inception until September 23, 2022, and supplemented with hand-searching of reference lists. Included studies were those that used validated methods to report treatment rates for any mental disorder, depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and behavior disorders among children and adolescents. Studies with a Joanna Briggs Institute score of 5 or more were included in the meta-analysis. Treatment rates were pooled using random-effects models. Subgroup analyses were performed to investigate the association with treatment rates of factors, such as year of data collection, World Health Organization region, age, income level, timeframe of diagnosis, informant source, service type, sample origin, and internalizing or externalizing disorder.