Against the background of the coronavirus pandemic, the rate of mental disorders among children and adolescents has doubled in the world. This is reported in the medical journal JAMA Pediatrics.
It is noted that, according to summarized data obtained in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, one in four young people in the world experience clinically increased symptoms of depression, and one in five – clinically increased symptoms of anxiety. “These pooled estimates are twice the pre-pandemic rates,” the study said.
On average, in these studies, 25.2% of young people experienced depression and 20.5% anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic. Before the outbreak of coronavirus, these figures averaged 12.9% and 11.6%, respectively. The prevalence of clinically significant symptoms of depression and anxiety during the pandemic was higher among girls. Older children are also more likely to have symptoms of depression.
The study was conducted from 8 to 22 March this year. The result was obtained from a meta-analysis of 29 studies with 80,879 participants under 18 years of age.
In November 2020, Robert Yolken of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine concluded that the coronavirus pandemic had sparked an epidemic of mental illness. It was noted that people with mental disorders are more vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2, which complicates the provision of medical services and contributes to mortality.
