The proportion of U.S. children and adolescents with anxiety and depression increased between 2016 and 2022, according to a recent Northwestern Medicine survey analysis published in JAMA Pediatrics.
“This study affirms changes pediatricians have been noticing over the last decade across clinical settings, from primary care practices to emergency departments to hospitals,” said Michelle Macy, MD, MS, the Mary Ann and J. Milburn Smith Research Professor for the Director of Child Health Research and a co-corresponding author of the study. “Mental health providers are in shortage across the U.S. We need to develop new ways to give day to day support to families of children who are experiencing anxiety and depression.”
In the current study, the investigators analyzed data from the National Survey of Children’s Health collected — a large, nationally representative sample of U.S. children and adolescents — collected from 2016 through 2022.
“The motivation for this study was to take a big-picture scan of youth mental and physical health in the U.S. from before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Marie Heffernan, PhD, assistant professor of Pediatrics and a co-corresponding author of the study.
The investigators found that the percentage of children and adolescents with anxiety or depression increased from 2016 to 2022. Notably, children and adolescents experiencing anxiety increased from 7.1 percent in 2016 to 10.6 percent in 2022, and those experiencing depression increased from 3.2 percent in 2016 to 4.6 percent in 2022.
However, the proportion of children and adolescents with asthma decreased, from 8.4 percent in 2016 to 6.5 percent in 2022, and severe headache or migraine also decreased, from 3.5 percent in 2016 to 2.6 percent in 2022.
“These findings suggest that the deterioration of youth health was specific to mental health, particularly anxiety and depression, but not select physical health conditions,” Heffernan said.
Furthermore, preventing anxiety and depression in these children and adolescents will require longitudinal collaboration between families, pediatricians, mental health providers, community leaders and educators, Macy said.
“Building a foundation for lifelong mental health and preventing anxiety and depression starts in infancy. Promoting safe, secure, nurturing relations for children in all families can happen in birth hospitals, primary care visits and early childhood education settings,” said Macy, who is a professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Emergency Medicine and scientific director for Community, Population Health and Outcomes at Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago.
Additional research is needed to identify the factors associated with these trends and the mechanisms by which youth mental health is worsening, according to the authors.
“It also is important to have continued attention and resources at a national level to address the potential causes of worsening youth anxiety and depression,” Heffernan added. “For parents and caregivers who are worried about their child’s mental health, but who aren’t sure where to start or how to approach this, a great first step is to talk with your child’s healthcare provider, such as a pediatrician, and to talk with your child.”
