Childhood predictors of use and costs of antidepressant medication by age 24 years: findings from the Finnish Nationwide 1981 Birth Cohort Study

The long-term cost of childhood conduct problems: Finnish Nationwide 1981 Birth Cohort Study

BACKGROUND

Commonly recognized childhood conduct problems often lead to costly problems in adulthood. This study aimed to evaluate the long-term cumulative cost of childhood conduct problems until the age of 30. The costs included inpatient care, nervous system medicine purchases, and criminal offences.

METHODS

The study used population-based nationwide 1981 birth cohort data. Families and teachers assessed the conduct problems of the eight-year-olds based on Rutter questionnaires. We grouped 5,011 children into low-level of conduct problems (52%), intermediate-level of conduct problems (37%), and high-level of conduct problems (11%) groups, based on combined conduct symptoms scores. The analysis included the cohort data with the Care Register for Health Care, the Drug Prescription Register, and the Finnish Police Register. The cost valuation of service use applied national unit costs in 2016 prices. We used Wilcoxon rank-sum test to test the differences between groups and gender.

RESULTS

During 1989-2011, average cumulative costs of the high-level (€44,348, p < .001) and the intermediate-level (€19,405, p < .001) of conduct problems groups were higher than the low-level of conduct problems group's (€10,547) costs. In all three groups, the boys' costs were higher than girls' costs.

CONCLUSIONS

The costs associated with conduct problems in childhood are substantial, showing a clear need for cost-effective interventions. Implementation decisions of interventions benefit from long-term cost-effectiveness modelling studies. Costing studies, like this, provide cost and cost offset information for modelling studies.

Registered psychiatric service use, self-harm and suicides of children and young people aged 0-24 before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted on psychiatric symptoms of children and young people, but many psychiatric services have been disrupted. It is unclear how service use, self-harm and suicide has changed since the pandemic started. To gain timely information, this systematic review focused on studies based on administrative data that compared psychiatric service use, self-harm and suicide before and during the pandemic among children and young people.

METHODS AND FINDING

A systematic review of studies published in English from 1 January 2020 to 22 March 2021 was conducted, using the Web of Science, PubMed, Embase and PsycINFO databases. Increases or reductions in service use were calculated and compared using percentages. Of the 2,676 papers retrieved, 18 were eligible for the review and they provided data from 19 countries and regions. Most studies assessed changes during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, from March to July 2020, and three assessed the changes until October 2020. Fifteen studies reported a total of 21 service use outcomes that were quantitively examined. More than three-quarters of the 21 outcomes (81%) fell by 5-80% (mean reduction = 27.9%, SD = 35%). Ten of the 20 outcomes for psychiatric emergency department (ED) services reduced by 5% to 80% (mean = 40.1%, SD = 34.9%) during the pandemic. Reductions in service use were also recorded for ED visits due to suicide ideation and self-harm, referrals to secondary mental health services, psychiatric inpatient unit admissions and patients receiving treatment for eating disorders. However, there were also some increases. Suicide rate and the number of ED visits due to suicide attempts have increased, and there was an increase in the number of treatment sessions in a service that provided telemedicine.

CONCLUSION

Most of the studies showed reductions in the use of psychiatric services by children and young people during the early phase of the pandemic and this highlighted potential delays or unmet needs. Suicide rate has increased during the second wave of the pandemic. Further studies are needed to assess the pattern of service use in the later phases of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Changes in mental health service use among 8-year-old children: a 24-year time-trend study

The use of children's mental health services has increased, but most children with psychiatric problems are still not in contact with these services. This time-trend study assessed changes in considered and reported service use over a 24-year period and studied the factors associated with it using four cross-sectional studies. Information was gathered on 8-year-old children living in the area covered by Turku University Hospital, Finland, at four time points: 986 children in 1989, 891 in 1999, 930 in 2005, and 942 in 2013. The same study design, methods and school districts were used each year and the participation rates varied between 86 and 95%. Parents and teachers completed questionnaires concerning the child's psychiatric symptoms and service use. The considered and reported service use increased continuously during the study period. In 1989, 2.4% of children had used services and in 2013 this was 11.0% (OR 5.0, 95% CI 3.1-8.0). Reported service use also increased among children with comorbid problems, from 18.3 to 50.7% (OR 5.0, 95% CI 2.1-12.0). Psychiatric problems and some family factors were associated with service use, but the increase was not explained by these factors. The increase in child mental health service use may reflect better public awareness of mental health problems, fewer barriers to accessing care and decrease of stigma. Although more children are using mental health services, there are still a large number of children with mental health problems who have not been in contact with services.

Purchases of antidepressants after cancer at a young age in Finland

According to previous studies, childhood cancer survivors have an elevated risk for late mental health effects. However, only few studies exist on young adulthood (YA) cancer survivors' mental health outcomes. In our study, we examined first time antidepressant (AD) medication purchases of childhood and YA cancer patients compared to siblings. The first time AD medication purchases of 7,093 cancer patients aged 0-34 years at diagnosis and a sibling cohort (N = 26,882) were retrieved from the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela) since 1.1.1993. Cancer patients diagnosed between 1.1.1994 and 31.12.2004 were identified from the Finnish Cancer Registry and sibling controls via the Population Registry Centre. Statistical analyses were performed via the Cox regression model, and the hazard ratios (HR) were adjusted for age and gender. Increased hazard ratios for AD purchases were found in the younger (0-19 years at cancer diagnosis) [HR 5.2, 95%CI (3.7-7.2)] and older (age 20-34 years at cancer diagnosis) [HR 4.5, 95%CI (3.9-5.2)] cancer patient groups compared to siblings. The gender effect was similar in patients and controls, showing that females have higher risk for AD purchases than males. Males in the younger patient group had highest HR (5.6) for AD purchases compared to siblings. Patients with sarcoma or CNS tumor in the younger age group and leukemia or CNS malignancy in the older age group had the highest risk for AD medication purchases. The frequency and risk for AD purchases has been increasing during recent decades in both cancer patient age groups compared to siblings. Thus, cancer patients' psychological support should be properly assessed already after primary treatment. Certain diagnostic groups as well as female patients may require more psychological support than others.

Longitudinal association between mental disorders in childhood and subsequent depression - A nationwide prospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

Depression ranges among the most impairing mental disorders worldwide, and early detection is a global health priority. Little is known about the association between non-affective mental disorders in childhood/adolescence and later depression.

METHODS

Nationwide register-based prospective cohort study, estimating cumulative incidences and incidence rate ratios (IRR) for later depression in individuals with and without non-affective mental disorders in early life.

RESULTS

475,213 females and 484,813 males born 1990-2007 were followed for a mean of 9.14 years (contributing a total of 8778,331 person-years of observation). In the cohort, 7963 (5451 females) were diagnosed with depression. Depression was more common in individuals with prior non-affective mental disorders in adolescence (15.98% in females and 7.02% in males) and in childhood (4.98% in females and 1.6% in males), than in the background population (3.94% and 1.3% in females; 1.37% and 0.47% in males). Eating and anxiety disorders in childhood/adolescence carried the highest absolute risk of depression. The relative risk of depression was particularly high the first year after the first non-affective disorder (IRR = 15.5; 14.07-17.10), but remained highly elevated more than five years after the first non-affective diagnosis (IRR = 2.05; 1.84-2.28), when compared to young people without such disorders.

LIMITATIONS

This study only included diagnoses given at hospital departments, representing the more severe mental disorders.

CONCLUSIONS

Children and adolescents with non-affective mental disorders were at substantially increased absolute and relative risk of developing depression in young adulthood, especially females diagnosed with anxiety- or eating disorders in adolescence. These findings may help identify groups of children and adolescents at very high risk of developing depression.

Changes in Mental Health, Bullying Behavior, and Service Use Among Eight-Year-Old Children Over 24 Years

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to examine changes in the mental health problems, bullying, and service use of 8-year-old children at 4 different time points (1989, 1999, 2005, and 2013) using population-based, time-trend data.

METHOD

Information from 4 cross-sectional samples was compared over a 24-year period. The target population was Finnish-speaking children born in 1981 (n = 1,038), 1991 (n = 1,035), 1997 (n = 1,030), and 2004 (n = 1,114) and living in selected school districts in the Turku University Hospital area in southwestern Finland. The participation rates varied from 84% (2005) to 95% (1989). Information about the children's psychiatric symptoms, bullying experience, and service use was obtained from parents and teachers using Rutter questionnaires. Child depression was measured using the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI).

RESULTS

Parental reports showed that emotional (p < .001) and conduct (p = .001) problems among boys and emotional (p = .002) problems among girls decreased over the 24-year period. In teacher reports, there were no significant changes in hyperactivity, emotional, and conduct problems between 1989 and 2013. Girls' self-reported depression scores increased between 1989 and 2005, but leveled off in 2013. There were no significant decreases in bullying behavior between 2005 and 2013 despite the introduction of a nationwide school-based anti-bullying program in 2009. Mental health service use increased constantly during the study period: in 1989, 4.2% of boys and 0.9% of girls were in contact with services, and by 2013 this had risen to 15.1% and 6.1% (p < .001).

CONCLUSION

No substantial increases in children's mental health problems were seen between 1989 and 2013. Service use increased constantly, indicating lower thresholds for seeking help. Bullying behavior is strongly related to mental health problems, and that is why school-based bullying interventions, including mental health perspectives, are needed.

Self-reported experiences as predictors for onset of psychotropic medication. A prospective study of healthy draftees

BACKGROUND

Psychosis and other psychiatric disorders are often preceded by prodromal symptoms. There are few community-based studies on symptom predictors of severe mental problems in healthy people.

AIMS

We aimed to study how a new self-reported screen for prodromal symptoms (PROD) predicts onset of all psychotropic and antipsychotic medication in healthy draftees.

METHODS

In a prospective follow-up study, 2330 18-year-old Finnish draftees who at call-up in 1999 completed the PROD comprising 21 symptom items divided into positive, negative and general symptom categories were prospectively followed for 6 years. First purchases of any psychotropic and antipsychotic drugs separately between 2000 and 2005 were used as an indicator of the onset of psychiatric disorder and predicted by PROD symptoms in Cox regression analysis.

RESULTS

A majority of the PROD items significantly predicted the first purchases of any psychotropic and of antipsychotic drugs, separately. Positive, negative and general symptoms predicted purchases of any psychotropic medication, while negative and general symptoms predicted purchases of antipsychotic drugs. General symptoms, in particular anxiety, had a strong independent association with onset of psychotropic medication.

CONCLUSIONS

In young healthy men, self-reported sub-clinical psychic symptoms predict onset of psychiatric disorders requiring psychotropic, including antipsychotic, medication.

Psychotropic drug and polypharmacy use among adolescents and young adults: findings from the Finnish 1981 Nationwide Birth Cohort Study

BACKGROUND

Little is known about the timing of the start of psychotropic drug use and psychotropic polypharmacy use.

AIMS

This study describes these patterns in a Finnish representative cohort aged between 12 and 25.

METHODS

5525 subjects born in 1981 were followed up between 1994 and 2005 using the Finnish National Prescription Register.

RESULTS

Survival analysis revealed that the cumulative incidence of any psychotropic drug use was 1.3% by age 15, 6.1% by age 20 and 15.2% by age 25. Antidepressants and benzodiazepines were the most used drug groups, with cumulative incidences of 12.2% and 5.2%, respectively, by age 25. The cumulative incidence of polypharmacy was 0.02% by age 15, 0.9% by age 20 and 4.1% by age 25, i.e. having purchased at least two psychotropic drugs from different classes during the same day. Polypharmacy occurred among the majority of antipsychotic and benzodiazepine users, but among a minority of antidepressant users. More females than males had used any psychotropic drug, antidepressants, the antidepressant-benzodiazepine combination and the antidepressant-mood stabilizer combination.

CONCLUSIONS

Both general psychotropic drug use and psychotropic polypharmacy use was often started in late adolescence.

Pain at age eight as a predictor of antidepressant medication use by age 24: findings from the Finnish nationwide 1981 birth cohort study

BACKGROUND

The existing knowledge about long-term psychosocial consequences of childhood pain is scarce. The current study investigated childhood pain symptoms as potential risk factors for antidepressant use in adolescence and early adulthood.

METHODS

A representative sample of eight-year-old children (n=6017) and their parents were asked about the prevalence of the child's headache, abdominal pain, and unspecified pain symptoms. The associations with antidepressant purchases by age 24, based on the nationwide prescription register, were analyzed separately for each symptom and each reporter. Sex, parental educational level, and child-, parent- and teacher-reported child's psychiatric symptoms at baseline were included as confounding variables.

RESULTS

In the sex-adjusted model, the child's own report of headache and other pains, and the parents' report of their child's abdominal pain, predicted antidepressant purchases. When confounding variables were included in the final model, only the child's own report of headache predicted antidepressant use with a dose-response relationship. The hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals for frequent and for almost daily headache were 1.6 (1.3-2.0) and 2.1 (1.5-2.9), respectively, in the sex-adjusted model, and 1.5 (1.2-1.8) and 1.7 (1.2-2.5) in the final model.

LIMITATIONS

The assessment of each pain symptom was based on one question for each reporter. The specific indications for the described medication could not be defined.

CONCLUSIONS

Health care professionals should also ask children themselves about the pain symptoms. They should be aware that children with pain are at increased risk of suffering later from conditions that require antidepressant treatment.