Increase seen in proportion with anxiety and depression, while proportion experiencing behavioral or conduct problems remained stable
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, April 28, 2025 (HealthDay News) — From 2016 to 2022, there was an increase in the proportion of youth who experienced anxiety or depression, according to a research letter published online April 21 in JAMA Pediatrics.
Marie E. Heffernan, Ph.D., and Michelle L. Macy, M.D., from the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, used publicly available data from the National Survey of Children’s Health from 2016 to 2022 to examine trends in youth mental health conditions.
During the study period, the researchers found an increase in the proportions of youth who experienced anxiety (7.1 to 10.6 percent) or depression (3.2 to 4.6 percent). Similar proportions of youth experienced behavioral or conduct problems in 2016 and 2022 (7.4 and 7.5 percent, respectively) and had heart conditions (1.3 and 1.4 percent, respectively). In contrast, there was a decrease from 2016 to 2022 in the proportions of youth who experienced asthma (8.4 to 6.5 percent) or severe headache or migraine (3.5 to 2.6 percent).
“These findings suggest that deterioration in youth health was specific to depression and anxiety but not select physical health conditions,” the authors write. “Our findings suggest that continued attention and resources are warranted at a national level to address the potential causes of worsening youth anxiety and depression.”
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