Annual research review: Secular trends in child and adolescent mental health.
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Systematic review of epidemiological cross-cohort observational studies
PubMed 25496340 · doi:10.1111/jcpp.12372
What was done
The authors conducted a review of epidemiological cross-cohort comparisons identified through a systematic search of the Web of Knowledge database to assess secular changes in the population prevalence of child and adolescent mental health problems.
What was found
The abstract reports no numerical data. It notes that while clinical diagnosis and treatment rates increased in recent decades, population cohorts using equivalent assessments showed little evidence of an increase in ADHD. Cross-cohort data for autism spectrum disorders were lacking. Evidence showed secular shifts (periods of increase and decrease) in emotional problems and antisocial behavior in high-income countries, with very limited evidence available from low- and middle-income countries.
Why it matters
This review distinguishes increases in clinical diagnosis from true population prevalence changes, demonstrating that trend trajectories vary substantially by specific psychiatric domain.
Limits
The abstract provides no sample sizes, effect sizes, or quantitative statistics. Data are primarily restricted to high-income countries, and cross-cohort comparisons for autism spectrum disorder are entirely lacking.