Adolescent demand for mental health care skyrocketed last year amid the pandemic, even as the overall need for care declined, according to a new analysis by FAIR Health.
Why does it matter: Parents, schools and pediatricians have been warning for months that children are not doing well, and this analysis confirms their concern about the numbers.
The big picture: The coronavirus pandemic has damaged the lives of Americans of all ages, but for teenagers, isolation and change in routine occur during a critical stage of development.
- The cost of staying at home in children’s mental health is one of many reasons why schools should reopen, say some experts.
By the numbers: Credit lines for mental health care – or individual health services – for children aged 13 to 18 doubled in March and April last year, compared to 2019.
- In contrast, the number of general claims lines for this age group was about half the level of 2019.
- This trend continued in November, albeit less dramatically.
Details: Women were much more likely to require mental health care than men.
- The percentage of all medical claim lines for intentionally self-inflicted injuries almost doubled in March and April, compared to the same month in 2019. Overdoses claim lines increased by 94.91% in March and 119.31% in April in compared to the previous year. Both remained high until November.
- The most common diagnoses in adolescents were consistently major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder and adaptation disorders. These conditions have also become more prevalent, as a percentage of total medical claim lines, compared to 2019 levels.
What we’re watching: Mental health problems can be situational, but that does not mean that once the pandemic is over, everything will be back to normal.
- Some children are likely to need long-term treatment, something in which the health care system in the United States has historically been poor.