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• Posted April 23, 2025

Mood Disorders Have Increased Among Kids, Teens

Depression and anxiety have been increasing steadily among children and teenagers in recent years, a new study says.

More than 1 in 10 children (10.6%) suffered from anxiety in 2022, up from 7.1% in 2016, researchers reported April 21 in JAMA Pediatrics.

During the same period, depression among children increased to 4.6% from 3.2%, results show.

“Our findings underscore the critical need to prioritize youth mental health, which continued to worsen even as we emerged from the pandemic,” lead researcher Marie Heffernan, an assistant professor of pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, said in a news release.

“Parents and schools need more support to be better equipped to help children suffering from anxiety or depression,” she added.

For the study, researchers analyzed data from the National Survey of Children’s Health, which is funded by the federal Health Resources and Services Administration.

Results showed that some physical maladies among children decreased even as their mood disorders rose.

Asthma declined from 8.4% to 6.5% between 2016 and 2022, and severe headaches or migraines declined from 3.5% to 2.6%, researchers found.

Behavior and conduct problems remained at about the same levels, around 7%, researchers said.

“Continued attention and resources are warranted at a national level to clarify and address the multitude of potential causes of worsening anxiety and depression in children and adolescents,” senior researcher Dr. Michelle Macy, an emergency medicine physician at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, said in a news release.

According to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, symptoms of a childhood mood disorder can include:

• Sad, depressed, irritable, angry or elevated moods that are more intense than usual.

• Friction with family.

• Lack of motivation or pleasure in activities kids normally enjoy.

• Changes in sleeping or eating patterns.

• Frequent physical complaints like headaches, stomach aches or fatigue.

• Difficulty achieving in school.

More information

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia has more about mood disorders in children and teenagers.

SOURCE: Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, news release, April 21, 2025