Abstract
BackgroundMental illness is a common phenomenon at all ages. Various independent studies have shown that psychopathology is often expressed on a continuum from youth to adulthood. The aim of our study was to demonstrate a) the frequency of admission of former child and adolescent psychiatry inpatients (CAP-IP) to adult inpatient mental health facilities, and b) a potential longitudinal diagnostic shift. This is the first Austrian study designed to shed light on these issues.MethodsNearly 1000 inpatient cases at a specialized child and adolescent care center were analyzed. These cases were then tracked using data matching with registry data from adult psychiatric institutions. Overall, our observational period was 23 years.Results26 % of our sample of former CAP-IP used psychiatric inpatient mental health services as adults, thus indicating chronicity or reoccurrence. In line with previous literature, there were patients who stayed in the same diagnostic category as well as patients with a diagnostic shift from childhood to adulthood.ConclusionsChildhood and adolescence is a very important period for early intervention and prevention of mental illness. Our findings support the notion of the continuity of psychopathology from youth into adulthood.
Highlights
Mental illness is a common phenomenon at all ages
Study population and inclusion criteria The Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry is a specialized facility with a public service mandate for the Austrian federal state of Tyrol
We investigated whether the children and adolescents in our representative sample of minors with a mental health inpatient diagnosis received a psychiatric inpatient diagnosis again as adults
Summary
Mental illness is a common phenomenon at all ages. Various independent studies have shown that psychopathology is often expressed on a continuum from youth to adulthood. The aim of our study was to demonstrate a) the frequency of admission of former child and adolescent psychiatry inpatients (CAP-IP) to adult inpatient mental health facilities, and b) a potential longitudinal diagnostic shift. This is the first Austrian study designed to shed light on these issues. Numerous epidemiological studies have investigated the prevalence of mental illness in childhood and adolescence. Recent results have consistently shown that mental disorders are relatively common phenomena among children and adolescents, affecting at least 15 % of the youth population in terms of point prevalence. Depressive, anxiety, hyperkinetic, substance-related and schizophrenia spectrum disorders mostly stay in the same diagnostic class, while affective or anxiety disorders during adulthood seem to follow externalizing
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