Mental Disorders and Children

Mental disorders in children assessed in recent CDC study

(RxWiki News) One out of seven (15.4 percent) US children aged 2 to 8 years old had at least one diagnosed mental, behavioral or developmental disorder (MBDD), according to a recent study.

This Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study involved a phone survey in which parents were asked whether a health care provider had ever told them their child had a specific health condition.

The conditions included attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, depression, anxiety problems, behavioral or conduct problems (like oppositional defiant disorder or conduct disorder), Tourette's syndrome, autism spectrum disorder, learning or intellectual disabilities, developmental delays, or speech or other language problems.

Several factors appeared to increase the risk for MBDDs in children. These factors included sociodemographic, health care, family and community factors.

These results involved data from 35,121 US children from the 2011-12 National Survey of Children's Health.

The report was recently published in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. No external funding sources or conflicts of interest were disclosed.

Review Date: 
March 22, 2016