Health - Mental illness among young people at a high level
The number of mental illnesses among young people in Bavaria remains high despite the slowdown in the coronavirus pandemic. According to the latest data from 2022, there was a slight decrease compared to the previous year. However, this "does not mean that everything is back to normal. Instead, we are observing that the suffering of many children and adolescents is intensifying," Sophie Schwab, head of the DAK health insurance fund, told the German Press Agency in Munich.
Schwab is concerned about the consequences of the current budget situation. "We must not save on the health of our children." On the contrary, more specific preventative and educational services are needed in Bavaria. Schwab relies on the evaluation of the treatment data of around 107,500 Bavarian children and adolescents who are insured with DAK and are considered representative of the young people in Bavaria.
According to the data, despite the slight decline in outpatient and inpatient treatment, adolescent girls in particular still need more therapy than before the pandemic. They are most affected by depression, anxiety and eating disorders, according to the report on minors in Bavaria. At the same time, experts believe that the problems of adolescent boys are probably underdiagnosed.
Boys react differently - and are often overlooked
While boys are more likely to react with aggression, impulsivity and oppositional behavior in psychologically stressful situations, girls are more prone to withdrawal, anxiety, depression and eating disorders, explained Thomas Fischbach, President of the Professional Association of Paediatricians and Adolescent Doctors. The boys' behavior is often not seen as a psychological disorder, but as a social behavioral disorder. "It is currently reasonable to assume that boys may be falling through the cracks and being lost to us," emphasized adolescent psychiatry expert Christoph Correll from Berlin's Charité hospital.
The DAK analysis shows that the rate of new diagnoses of mental illnesses and behavioral disorders in 2022 fell by 11% among adolescent girls from Bavaria and by 7% among boys aged between 15 and 18. Despite the sharper decline among girls, their case numbers are still up six percent compared to the pre-pandemic year of 2019, whereas the statisticians recorded a 16 percent drop among adolescent boys.
Expert: We are still in a mental health pandemic
According to the data, around 15,000 adolescent girls in Bavaria were newly diagnosed with a mental illness or behavioral disorder in 2022 - when the last anti-corona measures were lifted in the spring. "Even if the figures are falling: We are still in the midst of a mental health pandemic," emphasized Correll. "There is no all-clear."
A closer look at the statistics backs up Correll's words. Despite the recent decline, the rate of new cases of depression among adolescent girls from Bavaria rose by 32% between 2019 and 2022. The figure for anxiety disorders was 41 percent, and there was even a 70 percent increase in eating disorders.
Read also:
- A clan member is punished here
- Traffic lawyer warns: Don't talk to the police!
- Will he be convicted as Jutta's murderer after 37 years?
- He also wanted to kill his cousin
- Despite the decline in mental illnesses among young people in Bavaria due to the Coronavirus pandemic, Sophie Schwab from the DAK health insurance fund in Munich expressed concern about the intensifying suffering of children and adolescents.
- Schwab emphasized the importance of not saving on health services for children, as more preventative and educational services are needed in Bavaria to address the rising mental health issues.
- Thomas Fischbach, President of the Professional Association of Paediatricians and Adolescent Doctors, explained that while boys may react with aggression and impulsivity, girls are more likely to exhibit withdrawal, anxiety, depression, and eating disorders in psychologically stressful situations.
- Christoph Correll, an adolescent psychiatry expert from Berlin's Charité hospital, cautioned that boys' psychological issues might be underdiagnosed and that they could be "falling through the cracks."
- According to DAK analysis, there was a 16% drop in the rate of new diagnoses of mental illnesses and behavioral disorders among adolescent boys, but the number of girls still saw a 6% increase compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
- Correll reiterated that even with the declining figures, Bavaria is still in the midst of a mental health pandemic and that there is no all-clear, as depression, anxiety, and eating disorders continue to rise among adolescent girls in the region.
Source: www.stern.de
