Primary Care Making More Mental Health Diagnoses for Kids
The number of mental health diagnoses among children during primary care visits has risen significantly from 2014 to 2023. Anxiety-related diagnoses saw the largest increase, with visits rising from 1.7% to 6.1%. The findings highlight the need for enhanced mental health training and resources in pediatric primary care settings.
- ▪Primary care visits with mental health diagnoses increased from 5.9 visits per 100 children in 2014 to 9.7 visits per 100 in 2023.
- ▪Visits related to anxiety increased from 1.7% to 6.1% during the same period.
- ▪ADHD-related visits rose from 5.0% to 6.7%, while depression visits increased from 1.2% to 1.6%.
- ▪The study emphasizes the necessity for additional mental health training and clinical service capacity in pediatric care.
- ▪The research was conducted using data from the Massachusetts All-Payer Claims Database, covering 1.8 million children and teens.
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TOPLINE:Primary care visits that resulted in diagnoses of mental health conditions among children increased from 2014 to 2023, with those related to anxiety showing the greatest increase.METHODOLOGY:Researchers analyzed data from the 2014 to 2023 Massachusetts All-Payer Claims Database, including 1.8 million children and teens younger than 18 years (mean age, 9.5 years; 50.7% male).The primary outcome was the number of all primary care practitioner (PCP) visits with any mental health diagnosis per 100 insured children per quarter.Secondary outcomes were the number of all-cause primary care office visits per 100 children, the percentage of primary care visits with diagnoses of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression, anxiety, autism spectrum disorder, and trauma or…
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