More and more depressive children in clinics

More children and adolescents with depression in clinics

03/15/2014

More and more depressed children and teenagers end up in Thuringian hospitals. As the health insurance DAK announced, the number had more than tripled in twelve years. Throughout Germany, the number of in-patient treatments for depressed children and adolescents has increased six-fold.

Hospital stays have tripled
More and more children and adolescents have to be treated with depression in Thuringian clinics. As the health insurance DAK announced on Friday, the number of hospital stays of children and adolescents with depression in Thuringia has more than tripled in twelve years. 208 girls and boys between the ages of ten and 19 years had to be hospitalized in 2012. In 2000, there had been only 61. The DAK referred to the figures on data from the Federal Statistical Office.

More girls than boys affected
The increase in Thuringia was not quite as dramatic as in Germany, where the numbers have increased six-fold over the same period. As in all other federal states, there were significantly more female than male victims in the Free State. The proportion of girls and young women was 67.8 percent in the national average. Experts see various reasons for the continuous increase, for example improved diagnostics. But even a changed social treatment of depression can be determined.

School burdens have increased sharply
„Today it is no longer a blemish if someone is suffering from depression“, said Steffi Steinicke, head of the state of Thuringia according to the Neue Nordhäuser Zeitung. In the increasing performance pressure is another reason for the massive growth rates to find. „The school charges have increased sharply“, so Steinicke. There is no valid explanation for the gender imbalance. However, it is assumed that gender-specific role models burden girls and young women more than male contemporaries.

Symptoms partly part of adolescent self-discovery
Lack of energy, lack of concentration, lack of self-confidence or psychosomatic problems are some of the typical symptoms of this condition. However, many mental symptoms can also be a normal part of adolescent self-discovery, such as extreme mood swings, aggressive behavior, and declining school performance. But if physical symptoms persist, such as persistent headaches, weight loss, or sleep disturbances, parents should seek professional help. Experts are specialized psychotherapists or specialists in child and adolescent psychiatry and psychotherapy.

Depression is treatable today
Depression in childhood and adolescence are still too often overlooked by physicians. „Often it is done off as an adolescent mood depression“, says Steinicke. Often, however, it hides behind a disease requiring treatment, which affects on average every 20th adolescents up to the age of 18. Depression can take a few weeks but also years. Today, the disease is easy to treat and, in principle, an early treatment reduces the risk of the disease becoming chronic. Usually, depression could be treated on an outpatient basis. Experts advise only for serious indications such as suicide to a hospital stay. (Ad)