Mental Disorder Spectrum in Children and Adolescents from 2014–2022: A Nine‑year Epidemiological and Clinical Trend

Abstract

Objective

This study aimed to analyse the trend of the mental disorder spectrum in children and adolescents from 2014 to 2022 in one city in Central China and to provide actionable recommendations for the prevention and management of mental disorders.

Methods

In this hospital-based retrospective study, we utilized child and adolescent medical records data from the Wuhan Mental Health Center from January 2014 to December 2022 and examined the top 5 mental disorders (schizophrenia, depressive episode, bipolar disorder, pervasive developmental disorder, and unspecified mood disorder) that accounted for the overall proportion of patients admitted. The rank and proportion of these mental disorders, demographic characteristics and disease indicators were analysed.

Results

There was a significant upwards trend in the number of children and adolescents diagnosed with mental disorders over the past 9 years, with a sharp decline in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by a rebound in 2021 and a sustained level above prepandemic figures by 2022. The average age of hospitalization decreased significantly from 20.7 to 16.2 years, with a marked increase in the 12-17-year-old age group. The proportion of female hospitalizations increased from 39.2% to 55.2%, with a corresponding decrease in male hospitalizations. There was a notable decrease in the proportion of schizophrenia cases and an ascent of depressive episode to the most prevalent position.

Conclusion

This study emphasizes the critical need for targeted interventions and resources for severe mental disorders in children and adolescents and the importance of early detection and management of mental disorders to mitigate long-term effects on well-being and development.

Keywords

Mental disorders / Adolescents / Children / Hospitalization

© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Huazhong University of Science and Technology 2025

Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s11596-025-00007-5.

Data Availability The data are not publicly available due to their containing information that could compromise the privacy of research participants.

Declarations

Ethical Approval and Consent to Participate The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Wuhan Mental Health Center (No. KY2023.08.21.01) and was performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Verbal informed consent for publication was obtained from all participants. In statistical analysis, we processed the sensitive information of patients to ensure their privacy.

Consent for publication Not applicable.

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