TY - JOUR
AU - A. Gertner
AU - C. W. Easterly
AU - S. DeSilva
AU - P. R. Shafer
AU - B. Lombardi
AU - T. Hunt-Harrison
AU - S. Nag
AU - R. Cholera
AU - D. Roubinov
AU - B. Gaynes
A1 - 
AB - OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to characterize trends in office-based, mental health-related physician visits of children and adolescents. METHODS: This descriptive, repeated cross-sectional study analyzed visits (unweighted N=43,790) of children and adolescents, ages 4-17, in the 2005-2019 waves of the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, an annual nationally representative survey of U.S. office-based physician visits. The analysis estimated changes in the proportion of visits involving any psychiatric diagnosis, specific diagnoses, and psychiatric medications. RESULTS: The average yearly number of all pediatric visits fell over the study period, whereas the yearly percentage of visits addressing mental health increased among children and adolescents, from 9.3% in 2005-2011 to 13.6% in 2012-2019. The proportion of primary care physician visits addressing mental health increased by 44.7% across the study period. The increase in psychiatric diagnoses was driven by anxiety disorders, which increased the most among female patients. Psychiatric diagnoses increased by 65.9% in visits with adolescents ages 13-17 and 30.9% in visits with children ages 4-12. The authors detected increases in mental health visits among non-Hispanic White and Hispanic youths but not among non-Hispanic Black youths. No statistically significant changes were found in psychiatric medication prescription or continuation at mental health visits. CONCLUSIONS: Office-based physicians increasingly address mental health concerns, reflecting the increasing demand among children and adolescents. Psychiatric diagnoses at office-based physician visits differ by patients' sex and race-ethnicity. Many primary care physicians provide mental health care, highlighting the need for rigorous mental health training for pediatricians.
AD - Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill.; Department of Health Policy and Management, University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health, Chapel Hill.; AtlantiCare, Egg Harbor Township, NJ.; Department of Health Law, Policy and Management, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston.; Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.; Department of Pediatrics, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC.; Duke-Margolis Institute for Health Policy, Durham, NC.; Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health, Chapel Hill.
AN - 41331832
BT - Psychiatr Serv
C5 - Healthcare Disparities
CP - 1
DA - Jan 1
DO - 10.1176/appi.ps.20240553
DP - NLM
ET - 20251203
IS - 1
JF - Psychiatr Serv
LA - eng
N2 - OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to characterize trends in office-based, mental health-related physician visits of children and adolescents. METHODS: This descriptive, repeated cross-sectional study analyzed visits (unweighted N=43,790) of children and adolescents, ages 4-17, in the 2005-2019 waves of the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, an annual nationally representative survey of U.S. office-based physician visits. The analysis estimated changes in the proportion of visits involving any psychiatric diagnosis, specific diagnoses, and psychiatric medications. RESULTS: The average yearly number of all pediatric visits fell over the study period, whereas the yearly percentage of visits addressing mental health increased among children and adolescents, from 9.3% in 2005-2011 to 13.6% in 2012-2019. The proportion of primary care physician visits addressing mental health increased by 44.7% across the study period. The increase in psychiatric diagnoses was driven by anxiety disorders, which increased the most among female patients. Psychiatric diagnoses increased by 65.9% in visits with adolescents ages 13-17 and 30.9% in visits with children ages 4-12. The authors detected increases in mental health visits among non-Hispanic White and Hispanic youths but not among non-Hispanic Black youths. No statistically significant changes were found in psychiatric medication prescription or continuation at mental health visits. CONCLUSIONS: Office-based physicians increasingly address mental health concerns, reflecting the increasing demand among children and adolescents. Psychiatric diagnoses at office-based physician visits differ by patients' sex and race-ethnicity. Many primary care physicians provide mental health care, highlighting the need for rigorous mental health training for pediatricians.
PY - 2026
SN - 1075-2730
SP - 49
EP - 57+
ST - Changes in the Proportion of Office-Based Child and Adolescent Physician Visits Addressing Mental Health, 2005-2019
T1 - Changes in the Proportion of Office-Based Child and Adolescent Physician Visits Addressing Mental Health, 2005-2019
T2 - Psychiatr Serv
TI - Changes in the Proportion of Office-Based Child and Adolescent Physician Visits Addressing Mental Health, 2005-2019
U1 - Healthcare Disparities
U3 - 10.1176/appi.ps.20240553
VL - 77
VO - 1075-2730
Y1 - 2026
ER -