Obsolete

One in 10 children in Britain has a recognised mental disorder, ranging from depression to autism, according to the latest government figures.

The study, the second to map patterns of child mental health nationally, also found that boys were more likely than girls to have a mental disorder, and that in general children in poorer, worse-educated or lone parent families were likelier to be affected.

The statistics, based on a 2004 study of 8,000 children in England, Scotland and Wales, echo the findings of the first survey of child mental health in Britain in 1999, which recorded the same proportion of youngsters with a disorder.

They were interpreted yesterday as an indication that levels of mental health disorders among five- to 16-year-olds, which had risen over the preceding 25 years, had now stabilised and may begin to fall.

Experts also said they were reassured by figures showing that medication was very limited for children with disorders other than those connected to hyperactivity.

Obviously this doesn't recognise those who are living with mental illness but are not receiving any help with it, either because it's not recognised or untreatable (personality disorders). I find it difficult to believe that mental illness is now going down at a time when the world itself seems to be getting crazier by the day. The last 4 years have been enough to turn the most sane person into a gibbering wreck. The only way to counter this seems to be insulate yourself from any news and just keep consuming.

As for the figures showing that medication was limited for children, this may well be due to the recent rulings that the SSRI class of anti-depressants cannot be prescribed to persons under 18 because of the findings that they can increase the risk of self-harm and suicide. There are still concerns over the high rate of prescriptions for ADHD.

While I've been sceptical for a while about the effects of anti-depressants and their use as a cash-cow for drugs companies which rushed to produce them in the wake of the marketing of Prozac, I've also found that those opposed to their use can be just as aggressive and unwilling to see that some have been helped by these drugs, including the most complained about, Seroxat. What is fascinating and to do with this is the placebo effect. An excellent recent article about the effect is here, which is a great read.