Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

LIVE: Thursday 27th June 2024, 18:00-19:30 (CEST)
Join our expert panel to discover why you need to understand the drivers of non-adherence in your patients, and how you can optimize medication adherence in your clinics to drastically improve patient outcomes.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry

Open Access 30-12-2022 | Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder | Review

A systematic review and meta-analysis on the prevalence of mental disorders among children and adolescents in Europe

Authors: Rosemarie Sacco, Nigel Camilleri, Judith Eberhardt, Katja Umla-Runge, Dorothy Newbury-Birch

Published in: European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry

Login to get access

Abstract

Most mental disorders appear by age 14, but in most cases, they remain undiagnosed and untreated well into adulthood. A scoping review showed an absence of systematic reviews that address prevalence rates of mental disorders among children and adolescents in Europe that are based on community studies conducted between 2015 and 2020. To estimate the updated pooled prevalence of Anxiety Disorder, Depressive Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Conduct Disorder (CD), Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD), Autism Spectrum Disorder, Eating Disorders, Substance Use Disorders (SUD), among children and adolescents living in Europe, a search strategy was conducted using MEDLINE, Embase and Psych Info and studies were also identified from reference lists and gray literature. Eligible studies were evaluated for reliability, validity, and bias. Trends of prevalence rates for each mental disorder were calculated. Almost one in five young people in Europe were found to suffer from a mental disorder, with a pooled prevalence rate of 15.5%. Anxiety disorders had the highest pooled prevalence rate (7.9% (95% CI 5.1–11.8%, I2: 98.0%)), followed by ADHD (2.9% (95% CI 1.2–6.9%, I2 = 94.3%)), ODD (1.9% (95% CI 1.0–3.7%, I2 = 98.4%)), depressive disorder (1.7% (95% CI 1.0–2.9%, I2 = 97.7%)), CD (1.5% (95% CI 0.6–3.8%, I2 = 98.8%)) and ASD (1.4% (95% CI 0.4–5.4%, I2 = 99.7%). No studies on SUD were identified. The mental health of children and adolescents may be improved by introducing routine screening, refining diagnostic sensitivity, raising awareness of mental disorders, minimizing stigma and socioeconomic inequality, as well as developing early intervention services. These facilitators of good mental health need to be prioritized, especially at a time of unprecedented risk factors for poor mental health.
Appendix
Available only for authorised users
Literature
1.
World Health Organization, “International Classification of Diseases, Eleventh Revision (ICD-11),” World Health Organization, 2022. https://​icd.​who.​int/​en Accessed 24 Jul 2022
2.
INSERM Collective Expert Reports, Mental disorders: Children and adolescents screening and prevention. Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale, (2000)
3.
4.
Reardon T, Harvey K, Baranowska M, O’Brien D, Smith L, Creswell C (2017) What do parents perceive are the barriers and facilitators to accessing psychological treatment for mental health problems in children and adolescents? A systematic review of qualitative and quantitative studies. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 26(6):623–647. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1007/​s00787-016-0930-6. (Dr. Dietrich Steinkopff Verlag GmbH and Co. KG)CrossRef
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
Davies PDSC (2013) Annual Report of the Chief Medical Officer 2013 Public Mental Health Priorities : Investing in the Evidence Public mental health : evidence based priorities Key messages
12.
Merikangas KR, Nakamura EF, Kessler RC (2009) Epidemiology of mental disorders in children and adolescents. Dialogues Clin Neurosci 11(1):7–20 (Les Laboratoires Servier)CrossRef
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
World Health Organization (1992), International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM). World Health Organization
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
Higgins JPT, Rothstein HR, Borenstein M, Hedges LV (2009) Introduction to meta-analysis
38.
Borenstein M, Hedges LV, Higgins JPT, Rothstein HR (2009) Meta-regression
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.
51.
52.
53.
54.
55.
56.
57.
58.
59.
60.
61.
62.
63.
64.
65.
66.
67.
68.
American Psychiatric Association (2013), Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-5, 5th edn
69.
American Psychiatric Association (1994), Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edn
70.
71.
72.
73.
74.
Faraone SV, Sergeant J, Gillberg C, Biederman J (2003) The worldwide prevalence of ADHD: is it an American condition?. World Psychiatry, 2(2): 104. [Online]. Available: /pmc/articles/PMC1525089/. Accessed 25 Jan 2022
75.
76.
77.
78.
79.
80.
81.
OO on HS and Policies, Lithuania: Country Health Profile 2017, State of Health in the EU. (2017)
82.
83.
National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence and Social care Institute for Excellence, (2013)
84.
Turner BJ, Hu C, Villa JP, Nock MK (2018) Oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder. Mental disorders around the world: facts and figures from the WHO world mental health surveys. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 209–222
85.
86.
87.
88.
89.
90.
91.
92.
93.
94.
95.
96.
97.
98.
99.
100.
101.
102.
103.
104.
105.
106.
107.
108.
Steketee M, Jonkman H, Berten H, Vettenburg N (2013) Alcohol use among adolescents in Europe. Env Res Prev Action, 351
109.
OECD/EU (2018), Health at a Glance: Europe 2018: State of Health in the EU Cycle
110.
Cannon M, Coughlan H, Clarke M, Harley M, Kelleher I (2013) The mental health of young people in Ireland a report of the psychiatric epidemology research across the lifespan (PERL) Group
111.
112.
113.
114.
115.
116.
McDaid D (2011) Making the long-term economic case for investing in mental health to contribute to sustainability. Eur Pact Ment Heal Well-being
117.
118.
119.
120.
121.
122.
WHO|Child and adolescent mental health policies and plans, WHO, (2012)
123.
124.
125.
126.
127.
Metadata
Title
A systematic review and meta-analysis on the prevalence of mental disorders among children and adolescents in Europe
Authors
Rosemarie Sacco
Nigel Camilleri
Judith Eberhardt
Katja Umla-Runge
Dorothy Newbury-Birch
Publication date
30-12-2022