According to a study by the health insurance company DAK Gesundheit, girls suffer significantly more mentally from the corona pandemic than boys. For example, the number of 15- to 17-year-old girls treated for depression increased by 18 percent compared to the pre-Corona year 2018, the health insurance company announced on Tuesday in Hamburg. According to the information, it was even 23 percent among 10 to 14 year olds.
In boys, on the other hand, the rate of new cases of depression fell by 17 percent in the 10- to 14-year-olds and by 15 percent in the 15- to 17-year-olds. A similar picture emerges for eating disorders and anxiety disorders: while the number of treatments has increased significantly for girls, it has fallen for boys.
For the children and young people report, scientists from the analysis company Vandage and the University of Bielefeld examined the accounting data of around 782,000 children and young people up to the age of 17 who are insured with DAK-Gesundheit. The years 2018 to 2021 were examined. According to the DAK, around 3.3 million doctor visits, 3.3 million drug prescriptions and 88,000 hospital stays were included in the study in 2021 alone.
As the number of teenage girls newly diagnosed with depression increased, so did prescription medication. According to DAK information, the proportion of 15- to 17-year-old girls with antidepressant treatment increased by 65 percent in 2021 compared to 2019. Also in the case of drug treatment of eating disorders and anxiety disorders, the numbers in 2021 are massive by 75 and 19 percent respectively gone upstairs.
“The new data show a dramatic development in depression, anxiety and eating disorders,” said Andreas Storm, CEO of DAK-Gesundheit. The affected children, young people and their parents should not be left alone with the problems. It is also important that the schools remain open in the next Corona winter, as do everyday structures such as sports clubs and facilities for open child and youth work.
The DAK observed an increase in obesity, especially among primary school children. In the five to nine year old age group, obesity figures increased by 14 percent overall in 2021. Boys were slightly more affected than girls. Among 15 to 17-year-old boys there was even 15 percent more obesity, among girls in this age group six percent more.
Overall, according to the report, fewer children and young people came to doctor’s offices and hospitals in the second year of the corona virus than before the pandemic. In 2021, doctor visits fell by four percent and hospital stays by 18 percent compared to 2019. In addition, twelve percent fewer children and adolescents were prescribed medicines. The number of antibiotics prescribed fell by 43 percent in 2021.
