Mental illness in elementary-school-aged children

We conducted a retrospective analysis of 1992 hospital discharge data to determine the incidence of mental illness hospitalizations among elementary-school-aged children and to analyze differences in hospital use by selected population characteristics. We analyzed population-based records of hospitalizations of 6- to 12-year-olds (n = 4,460) with a principal diagnosis of mental illness and calculated relative risks (RRs) for hospitalization by sex, race/ethnicity, and payment source. Mental illnesses accounted for 8.1% of hospitalizations and 28.9% of hospital days for 6- to 12-year-olds. Hospital charges totaled $85 million. Boys had a higher risk of mental illness hospitalization than girls (RR 1.96; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.84-2.08). Latino children had a lower risk than whites (RR 0.22; 95% CI 0.20-0.24), as did children in the "Asian/other" group (RR 0.12, 95% CI 0.10-0.15). Inpatient hospitalizations for mental illness have a major impact on hospital morbidity for elementary-school-age children. Boys are overrepresented and Latinos and Asians/others are underrepresented among mental illness hospitalizations. Clinical implications for these findings and barriers to the delivery of inpatient mental health care are discussed.