title: Emergency department visits for mental health conditions among US children, 2001-2011.
abstract: We examined mental health-related visits to emergency departments (EDs) among children from 2001 to 2011. We used the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey-Emergency Department, 2001-2011 to identify visits of children 6 to 20 years old with a reason-for-visit code or ICD-9-CM diagnosis code reflecting mental health issues. National percentages of total visits, visit counts, and population rates were calculated, overall and by race, age, and sex. Emergency department visits for mental health issues increased from 4.4% of all visits in 2001 to 7.2% in 2011. Counts increased 55,000 visits per year and rates increased from 13.6 visits/1000 population in 2001 to 25.3 visits/1000 in 2011 (P < .01 for all trends). Black children (all ages) had higher visit rates than white children and 13- to 20-year-olds had higher visit rates than children 6 to 12 years old (P < .01 for all comparisons). Differences between groups did not decline over time.
authors.affiliation: National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Hyattsville, MD, USA fpa8@cdc.gov.
authors.forename: Alan E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Simon
authors.affiliation: National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Hyattsville, MD, USA US Public Health Service, Rockville, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Kenneth C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Schoendorf
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012737:Sex Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: children; emergency department; mental health; trends