Worldwide Prevalence and Disability From Mental Disorders Across Childhood and Adolescence: Evidence From the Global Burden of Disease Study.

Importance: The period from childhood to early adulthood involves increased susceptibility to the onset of mental disorders, with implications for policy making that may be better appreciated by disaggregated analyses of narrow age groups. Objective: To estimate the global prevalence and years lived with disability (YLDs) associated with mental disorders and substance use disorders (SUDs) across 4 age groups using data from the 2019 Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study. Design, Setting, and Participants: Data from the 2019 GBD study were used for analysis of mental disorders and SUDs. Results were stratified by age group (age 5 to 9, 10 to 14, 15 to 19, and 20 to 24 years) and sex. Data for the 2019 GBD study were collected up to 2018, and data were analyzed for this article from April 2022 to September 2023. Exposure: Age 5 to 9 years, 10 to 14 years, 15 to 19 years, and 20 to 24 years. Main Outcomes and Measures: Prevalence rates with 95% uncertainty intervals (95% UIs) and number of YLDs. Results: Globally in 2019, 293 million of 2516 million individuals aged 5 to 24 years had at least 1 mental disorder, and 31 million had an SUD. The mean prevalence was 11.63% for mental disorders and 1.22% for SUDs. For the narrower age groups, the prevalence of mental disorders was 6.80% (95% UI, 5.58-8.03) for those aged 5 to 9 years, 12.40% (95% UI, 10.62-14.59) for those aged 10 to 14 years, 13.96% (95% UI, 12.36-15.78) for those aged 15 to 19 years, and 13.63% (95% UI, 11.90-15.53) for those aged 20 to 24 years. The prevalence of each individual disorder also varied by age groups; sex-specific patterns varied to some extent by age. Mental disorders accounted for 31.14 million of 153.59 million YLDs (20.27% of YLDs from all causes). SUDs accounted for 4.30 million YLDs (2.80% of YLDs from all causes). Over the entire life course, 24.85% of all YLDs attributable to mental disorders were recorded before age 25 years. Conclusions and Relevance: An analytical framework that relies on stratified age groups should be adopted for examination of mental disorders and SUDs from childhood to early adulthood. Given the implications of the early onset and lifetime burden of mental disorders and SUDs, age-disaggregated data are essential for the understanding of vulnerability and effective prevention and intervention initiatives.

Comparing mental health semi-structured diagnostic interviews and symptom checklists to predict poor life outcomes: an 8-year cohort study from childhood to young adulthood in Brazil.

BACKGROUND: Semi-structured diagnostic interviews and symptom checklists present similar internal reliability. We aim to investigate whether they differ in predicting poor life outcomes in the transition from childhood to young adulthood. METHODS: For this longitudinal study, we used data from the Brazilian High Risk Cohort Study for Childhood Mental Health Conditions. Eligible participants were aged 6-14 years on the day of study enrolment (January to February, 2010) and were enrolled in public schools by a biological parent in Porto Alegre and São Paulo, Brazil. 2511 young people and their caregivers were assessed at baseline in 2010-11, and 1917 were assessed 8 years later (2018-19; 76·3% retention). Clinical thresholds were derived using semi-structured parent-report interview based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, according to the Developmental and Well-being Assessment (DAWBA), and clinical scores as defined by the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL; T-score ≥70 considered positive caseness). At 8 years, participants were assessed for a composite life-threatening outcome (a composite of death, suicide attempts, severe self-harm, psychiatric inpatient admission, or emergency department visits) and a composite poor life chances outcome (a composite of any criminal conviction, substance misuse, or school dropout). We evaluated the accuracy of DAWBA and CBCL to predict these outcomes. Logistic regression models were adjusted for age, sex, race or ethnicity, study site, and socioeconomic class. FINDINGS: DAWBA and CBCL had similar sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, and test accuracy for both composite outcomes and their components. Any mental health problem, as classified by DAWBA and CBCL, was independently associated with the composite life-threatening outcome (DAWBA adjusted odds ratio 1·62, 95% CI 1·20-2·18; CBCL 1·66, 1·19-2·30), but only CBCL independently predicted poor life chances (1·56, 1·19-2·04). Participants classified by both approaches did not have higher odds of the life-threatening outcome when compared with participants classified by DAWBA or CBCL alone, nor for the poor life chances outcome when compared with those classified by CBCL alone. INTERPRETATION: Classifying children and adolescents based on a semi-structured diagnostic interview was not statistically different to symptom checklist in terms of test accuracy and predictive validity for relevant life outcomes. Classification based on symptom checklist might be a valid alternative to costly and time-consuming methods to identify young people at risk for poor life outcomes. FUNDING: Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico; Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo; and Medical Research Council, European Research Council. TRANSLATION: For the Portuguese translation of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section.

Harnessing Progress in Psychiatric Genetics to Advance Population Mental Health.

Advances in genomics and neuroscience have ushered in unprecedented opportunities to increase our understanding of the biological underpinnings of mental disorders, yet there has been limited progress in translating knowledge on genetic risk factors to reduce the burden of these conditions in the population. We describe the challenges and opportunities afforded by the growth of large-scale population health databases, progress in genomics, and collaborative efforts in epidemiology and neuroscience to develop informed population-wide interventions for mental disorders. Future progress is likely to benefit from the following efforts: expansion of large collaborative studies of mental disorders to include more systematically ascertained multiethnic samples from biobanks and registries, harmonization of phenotypic characterization in registry and population samples to extend clinical diagnosis to transdiagnostic concepts, systematic investigation of the influences of both specific and nonspecific environmental factors that may combine with genetic susceptibility to confer increased risk of specific mental disorders, and implementation of study designs that can inform gene-environment interactions. Such data can ultimately be combined to develop comprehensive models of risks of, interventions for, and outcomes of mental disorders. With its focus on phenotypic characterization, sampling, study designs, and analytic methods, epidemiology will be central to progress in translating genomics to public health.

Physical-Mental Comorbidity of Pediatric Migraine in the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the associations between headaches and migraine with physical and mental disorders in a large pediatric registry. STUDY DESIGN: In total, 9329 youth aged 8-21 years from the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort were included. Physical conditions, including headache, were ascertained from electronic medical records and in-person interviews. Modified International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD-II) criteria were used to classify migraine symptoms. Forty-two other physical conditions were classified into 14 classes of medical disorders. Mental disorders were assessed using an abbreviated version of the Kiddie-Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia. RESULTS: Lifetime prevalence of any headache was 45.5%, and of migraine was 22.6%. Any headache was associated with a broad range of physical disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (OR 1.2 [95% CI 1.1-1.4]), and behavior disorders (1.3 [1.1-1.5]). Youth with migraine had greater odds of specific physical conditions and mental disorders, including respiratory, neurologic/central nervous system, developmental, anxiety, behavior, and mood disorders than those with nonmigraine headache (OR ranged from 1.3 to 1.9). CONCLUSIONS: Comorbidity between headaches with a range of physical conditions that have been associated with adult migraine demonstrates that multimorbidity occurs early in development. Comorbidity may be an important index of heterogeneity of migraine that can guide clinical management, genetic investigation, and future research on shared pathophysiology with other disorders.

Sleep Patterns and Mental Health Correlates in US Adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate systematically the associations of sleep patterns with a range of mental disorders and other outcomes among a nationally representative sample of US adolescents. STUDY DESIGN: Using the National Comorbidity Survey Adolescent Supplement, a nationally representative cross-sectional survey of 10 123 US adolescents 13-18 years of age, we assessed associations between adolescent-reported sleep patterns (tertiles of weeknight bedtime, weeknight sleep duration, weekend bedtime delay, and weekend oversleep) and past-year mental disorders based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition, smoking, injury, suicidality, and perceived mental and physical health, assessed via direct diagnostic interview. RESULTS: The average weeknight bedtime was at 22:37 and sleep duration was 7.72 hours. Average weekend bedtime delay was 1.81 hours and average weekend oversleep was 1.17 hours. Later weeknight bedtime, shorter weeknight sleep duration, greater weekend bedtime delay, and both short and long periods of weekend oversleep were associated with increased odds of mood, anxiety, substance use, and behavioral disorders, as well as suicidality, tobacco smoking, and poor perceived mental and physical health. ORs ranged from 1.27 to 2.15. The only outcomes not associated with any sleep patterns were past-year injury and eating disorder. CONCLUSIONS: Suboptimal sleep patterns were associated with an array of mental disorders and other health-related outcomes among adolescents. Abnormal sleep patterns may serve as markers of prodromal or untreated mental disorders among adolescents, and may provide opportunities for prevention and intervention in mental disorders.

Physical comorbidity of migraine and other headaches in US adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the pattern and extent to which other physical conditions are comorbid with migraine and other headaches in youth in a representative sample of the US population. STUDY DESIGN: The National Comorbidity Survey-Adolescent Supplement is a face-to-face survey of adolescents aged 13-18 years in the continental US. Sufficient information to assess the International Headache Society's criteria for migraine with and without aura over the past 12 months was available in the diagnostic module. A caretaker/parental self-administered report was used to assess a broad range of other physical conditions. The sample for these analyses was 6843 adolescents with systematic caretaker/parent reports. RESULTS: Adolescents with any headaches reported higher rates of other neurologic conditions, including epilepsy (OR, 2.02; 95% CI, 1.04-3.94), persistent nightmares (OR, 2.28; 95% CI, 1.34-3.87), and motion sickness (OR, 1.6; 95% CI, 1.07-2.4), as well as abdominal complaints (OR, 2.36; 95% CI, 1.59-3.51). Asthma (OR, 2.22; 95% CI, 1.26-3.92) and seasonal allergies (OR, 1.66; 95% CI, 1.12-2.48) were more common in adolescents with migraines than in adolescents with nonspecific headaches. CONCLUSION: Adolescent migraine is associated with inflammatory conditions such as asthma and seasonal allergies, as well as with epilepsy, persistent nightmares, and motion sickness. Our findings suggest that comorbid medical conditions should be evaluated comprehensively in determining treatment options in youth with headache. Such comorbidity also could be an important source of the clinical and etiologic heterogeneity in migraine.

Psychiatric comorbidity and acculturation stress among Puerto Rican substance abusers.

BACKGROUND: Although acculturation to the United States has been associated with an increase in substance, mood, and anxiety disorders in Latino populations, few studies have examined this concept relative to comorbidity among these syndromes. METHODS: This study compares the prevalence and patterns of psychiatric comorbidity among Puerto Ricans with substance use disorders living in San Juan (Puerto Rico) to those who have migrated to New Haven (Connecticut) and examines the association between acculturation-related stress and the prevalence and patterns of psychiatric comorbidity among those who have migrated to New Haven. RESULTS: Lifetime levels of nearly all comorbid psychiatric disorders among respondents with substance use disorders were generally similar across sites. However, the risk of any co-occurring psychiatric disorder was higher among substance use disorder cases in New Haven who reported high levels of total acculturation stress and family-specific acculturation stress. These findings were generally accounted for by associations between affective disorders and high scores on these indicators of acculturation stress. CONCLUSIONS: The overall prevalence and patterns of psychiatric comorbidity are remarkably similar among Puerto Rican substance abusers whether they live in San Juan or have migrated to New Haven, thereby demonstrating robustness to differences in geographic location. Nevertheless, the degree of acculturation-related family stress is positively associated with co-occurring substance and psychiatric disorders, particularly affective disorders. Intervention in family strain related to the acculturation process may diminish the development of comorbid mental disorders and assist in implementing successful treatment of substance abuse.

Association between parental and individual psychiatric/substance use disorders and smoking stages among Puerto Rican adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the associations between parental and individual psychiatric disorders and smoking stages among Puerto Rican youth from migrant and non-migrant families. METHOD: Analyses were conducted drawing on data collected as part of a migrant family study examining youth at high and low risk for substance use disorders based on the presence or absence of a parental history of substance abuse or dependence. Parents and their offspring were recruited in San Juan, Puerto Rico (n=450) and New Haven, CT, USA (n=350). RESULTS: Experimental smoking among adolescent offspring was associated with parent proband disorders. In contrast, regular smoking behavior, defined as at least weekly smoking for a month or more, and DSM-IV nicotine dependence were more strongly associated with the adolescents' own psychiatric disorders. With the exception of anxiety disorders, significant bivariate associations were shown between each psychiatric/substance use disorder and nicotine dependence. Once comorbidity was statistically controlled, only attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and alcohol and drug use disorders were significantly associated with nicotine dependence. After controlling for adolescents' psychiatric comorbidity, there was an association between parental disorders and both experimental and regular smoking in their adolescent offspring. CONCLUSIONS: By combining family and migrant research strategies within a single study, the present investigation was able to simultaneously examine familial, individual and sociocultural factors that may play a role in development and/or persistence of smoking behavior among Puerto Rican adolescents.