Antidepressant prescriptions for ages 0–9 up 157% in five years, signaling child and adolescent mental health crisis

[The Financial News] Antidepressant prescriptions in South Korea have surged by nearly 40% over the past five years. Prescriptions for children and adolescents more than doubled in the same period, raising growing concerns that the mental health crisis is spreading to younger age groups.
According to data submitted on the 31st by Kim Mee-ae, a lawmaker from the People Power Party (PPP) who sits on the Health and Welfare Committee of the National Assembly, the number of antidepressant prescriptions last year reached about 24.4 million. This represents a 36.7% increase compared with 17.85 million cases in 2020.
Prescriptions increased across all age groups, but the rise was particularly steep among younger children and adolescents. For those aged 0–9, prescriptions jumped from 44,000 cases in 2020 to 113,000 last year, a surge of 156.8%. Among 10–19-year-olds, cases rose from 565,000 to 1.285 million, an increase of 127.4%.
Young adults were no exception. Among people in their 20s and 30s, the number of prescriptions increased by 55.9% and 74.7%, respectively, over the same period, clearly indicating that anxiety and stress are increasingly developing into depressive symptoms.
Looking at the reasons for prescriptions, there was an explosive increase in prescriptions for hyperkinetic disorders such as Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Among the top 20 primary diagnoses associated with antidepressant prescriptions last year, prescriptions for ADHD and other hyperkinetic disorders rose from 157,000 cases in 2020 to 838,000 cases, an increase of 433.8%. In terms of sheer volume, depressive episodes accounted for the largest number of prescriptions, at 7.047 million cases.
If mental health problems in childhood and adolescence are left unaddressed, they can persist into adulthood. According to the National Center for Mental Health's 2022 National Mental Health Survey of Korea report, the lifetime prevalence of mental disorders among children and adolescents aged 6–17 was 16.1%.

sms@fnnews.com Reporter Sung Min-seo Reporter