The number of mental health outpatient visits among youths saw a significant increase pre-pandemic, according to a study published March 7 in JAMA Network Open.
The study pulled data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey from between 2006 and 2019 to find the number of outpatient visits for psychiatric or substance use disorders made by adolescents and young adults, ranging from 13 to 24 years old.
The study found that the number of outpatient visits linked with a mental health diagnosis almost doubled between 2006 and 2019, jumping from 8.9% to 16.9%. Mood disorders saw the largest increase, growing from 5.7% of outpatient visits in 2006 to 14% in 2019.
Behavioral health outpatient visits were most common in male patients compared to female patients, at 10% and 5% for adolescent patients and 7% and 2% for young adults, respectively.