Up to 20 percent of all children in the United States suffer from a mental disorder and the rate of youth diagnoses has been rising for more than a decade, according to a report just released by the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
The agency's first comprehensive analysis of disorders among youth aged 3 to 17 revealed childhood mental illness affects up to one in five children and costs $247 billion per year in medical bills, special education and legal fees.
"Millions of children in the U.S. have mental disorders that affect their overall health and present challenges for their loved ones," said Dr. Tom Frieden, Director of the CDCP. "We are working to both increase our understanding of these disorders, and help scale up programs and strategies to promote children's mental health so that our children grow to lead productive, healthy lives."
Children with a mental disorders often have trouble learning in school, making friends and building relationships later in life, the report said.
They are also more likely to have other chronic health problems asthma and diabetes and run a greater risk of developing mental illnesses as adults.
Based on data collected between 1994 and 2011, the reseach that showed the number of children with mental disorders is rising and suggested improved methods of diagnoses may be at least one of the factors behind the rate increase.
The most prevalent mental health diagnosis, as reported by parents, was Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, which affects 6.8 percent of children.
Other named disorders, which tend to occur together, were behavioral conduct problems, at 3.5 percent, anxiety, which consists mostly of fears and phobias, at 3 percent, depression, at 2.1 percent, and autism spectrum disorders, accounting for 1.1 percent of the reported disorders.
Boys were found more likely to suffer one or more of the listed disorders, except for depression and alcohol abuse, which affect girls more.
The study also said suicide, which can be precipitated by an untreated mental illness, was second only to accidents as the leading cause of death among children ages 12 to 17 years.
In 2011, the journal Pediatrics published a list of 11 warning signs of mental illness in youth.
The document grew from a request by the U.S. surgeon general back in 2001 to develop a list of key indicators similar that created in 1971 to help people recognize the early signs of cancer.
To determin the list, a committee reviewed mental health studies involving more than 6,000 children and made sure the symptoms included on the list could identify the majority of children with certain mental health disorders.
The 11 warnings signs are as follows:
- Feeling very sad or withdrawn for two or more weeks
- Seriously trying to harm or kill yourself, or making plans to do so
- Sudden overwhelming fear for no reason, sometimes with a racing heart or fast breathing
- Involved in multiple fights, using a weapon, or wanting badly to hurt others
- Severe, out- of-control behavior that can hurt yourself or others
- Not eating, throwing up or using laxatives to make yourself lose weight
- Intensive worries or fears that get in the way of daily activities
- Extreme difficulty in concentrating or staying still that puts you in physical danger or causes school failure
- Repeated use of drugs or alcohol
- Severe mood swings that cause problems in relationships
- Drastic changes in your behavior or personality
The 11 signs of possible illness were are indented as mental health disorder "profiles" and not specific diagnoses, the researchers said.