From 2010 to 2024, the prevalence of mental health diagnoses grew by 62% among people ages 10 to 46, according to a Norwegian population-wide study.Prevalence rates were higher for primary care visits coded for mental health symptoms versus visits coded for mental health disorders.The bigger increase in symptom-coded consultations versus disorder-coded consultations may indicate a change in patient behavior or physician coding habits, researchers said, rather than a true increase in worsening mental health.
A lower threshold for seeking medical help and/or changes in diagnostic practice may be contributing to the increase in primary care consultations for mental health issues among young people, instead of a true increase in worsening mental health, according to a Norwegian population-wide study.
From 2010 to 2024, the prevalence of mental health diagnoses grew by 62% (from 9.9% to 16%) among Norwegians ages 10 to 46, with an increase of 66% for females and 54% for males, reported Kathryn Christine Beck, PhD, of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health in Oslo, and colleagues in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.
Of note, prevalence rates were "consistently higher" for visits coded for mental health symptoms, rather than for mental health disorders, the authors noted. Proportions of anxiety symptom consultations increased from 0.44% to 1.7%, while anxiety disorder consultations rose more modestly, from 0.95% to 1.4%. Proportions of depressive symptom consultations increased from 0.73% to 1.8%, while depressive disorder consultations were stable (2.8% to 2.7%).
