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Prevalence and Correlates of Physical-mental Multimorbidity in Outpatient Children From a Pediatric Hospital in

Mark A Ferro1, Saad Qureshi1, Ryan J Van Lieshout2

  • 1School of Public Health Sciences, 8430University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.

Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. Revue Canadienne De Psychiatrie
|January 21, 2022
PubMed

Insights

Mental illness is common in children with chronic physical conditions, with parent reports indicating higher prevalence than child self-reports. Child disability is a key factor for early mental health intervention.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Health
  • Child Psychology
  • Chronic Illness Management

Background:

  • Mental illness is a significant concern in children with chronic physical conditions.
  • Understanding the prevalence and correlates of mental illness in this population is crucial for effective intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To estimate the six-month prevalence of mental illness in children with chronic physical illness (multimorbidity).
  • To examine agreement between parent and child reports of mental illness.
  • To identify factors associated with mental illness in these children.

Main Methods:

  • A cohort of 263 children aged 2-16 years with physician-diagnosed chronic physical illness was recruited.
  • Mental illness was assessed using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview for Children and Adolescents (MINI-KID) for both parent and child reports.
  • Logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with mental illness.

Main Results:

  • The six-month prevalence of mental illness was 38% based on parent reports and 25% based on child self-reports.
  • Parent-child agreement on mental illness diagnosis was low (κ=0.18).
  • Factors associated with mental illness included older child age, male sex, higher household income, parental depression symptoms, and child disability.

Conclusions:

  • Mental illness (multimorbidity) is common in children with chronic physical illnesses and occurs across various physical conditions.
  • Child disability is a significant, potentially modifiable correlate of mental illness, suggesting its utility for routine assessment in pediatric settings.
  • Early mental health interventions, informed by disability assessment, are recommended to reduce the incidence of mental illness in children with chronic physical conditions.
Abstract

Keywords:
child healthmental illnessmultimorbidityphysical illness

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