Study Reveals 21 Percent Increase of Childhood Mental Health Disabilities
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An analysis from Pittsburgh’s Children Hospital revealed that there was a 21 percent increase in childhood non-developmental or mental health disabilities within a 10-year span (2001-2011).
The rate in childhood physical health-related disabilities dropped 12 percent during that same period.
The study’s lead author and the chief for the hospital’s Division of Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine Dr. Amy Houtrow said, what the study found was a more than 15 percent increase in childhood disability or roughly one million more children suffering from these disabilities in children.
Non-developmental disabilities include ADHD, autism, epilepsy, intellectual impairment and learning disabilities.
The study showed the increases were mainly among children who came from socially-advantaged households. Statistics typically show children who live in poverty-stricken homes are more likely to suffer with high rates of disability. During the 10-year span, there was a 28.4 percent increase in children whose household were at or above 400 percent of the poverty level.
Houtrow said one reason for the increase, they believe, is that these families actually have better access to getting a diagnosis and getting treatment; better access to getting healthcare.
There are several other possible reasons for the increase:
- Shift in diagnostic criteria
- Rate increases for certain kinds of illnesses like autism
- Increase in awareness for conditions
- Demand for specific diagnosis to get services like early intervention.
Researchers kept an eye on trends by looking at data from U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Health Interview Survey as well as parent interviews.
Houtrow said it’s imperative health providers understand that more children are experiencing these disabilities and that the disabilities have turned more toward neurodevelopmental and mental health problems. The healthcare system, she said, must be ready to provide information, services and recommend possible treatments to assist children so they can be successful.
The study, which was founded by the Department of Health and Human Services and the National Institutes of Heal, will be printed in the September issue of Pediatrics.
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