title: Disparities in mental health among adolescents with and without impairments.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To analyse whether there are differences in mental health among adolescents with and without various kinds of impairments, taking into account the number of impairments and gender.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data from the study Life & Health - Young People conducted in a Swedish county in 2011 was used. The survey included all students in grades 7 (13-14 years) and 9 (15-16 years) in compulsory school and grade 2 (17-18 years) in upper secondary school; there were 7793 respondents (81.0%). The students answered a questionnaire anonymously during school hours. Various measures of mental health were assessed in the groups: hard of hearing, visual impairment, motor impairment, difficulties in reading/writing/dyslexia, attention deficit hyperactive disorder/attention deficit disorder, other impairment, no impairment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the studied impairments, difficulties in reading/writing/dyslexia are the most common (6.3%), followed by hard of hearing (5.4%). To have at least one impairment is more common among boys (18.2%) than girls (15.4%). In the impairment group, 21.5% have multiple impairments. Adolescents with impairments have worse mental health than those without, and those with multiple impairments have particularly higher odds ratio to have worse mental health. There are also differences in mental health between number and various kinds of impairments and between girls and boys.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Adolescents with impairments, particularly girls and those with multiple impairments, have considerably worse mental health than others. These inequalities in health are an immense challenge, not only for those directly involved with the impaired: they affect everyone involved with the goal health equity for the whole population.
authors.affiliation: Department for Sustainable Development, Region Örebro County, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Örebro University, Sweden.
authors.forename: Margareta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lindén-Boström
authors.affiliation: Department for Sustainable Development, Region Örebro County, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Örebro University, Sweden carina.persson@regionorebrolan.se.
authors.forename: Carina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Persson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Adolescents; disability; gender; impairment; logistic regression; mental health