Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
The prevalence of chronic physical illnesses and their association with mental disorders was assessed using data collected by primary care pediatricians. A chronic illness was diagnosed in 1573 (15.6%) of 10,058 children aged 4 to 16 years, 945 (9.4%) of whom had a "serious" disorder, 535 (5.3%) had a minor disorder (hay fever or dermatitis), and 121 (1.2%) had a speech or language disorder. Behavioral problems were identified more often among patients with "serious" disorders than among those without chronic illnesses (2.4% vs 1.7%), as were emotional problems (5.0% vs 3.1%). Among those with "serious" conditions involving the central nervous system, the prevalence of behavioral (5.2%) and emotional (10.4%) disorders was still higher. Although children with "serious" disorders not involving the central nervous system also showed elevated prevalence rates of behavioral (2.1%) and emotional (4.5%) disturbances, this increase did not reach statistical significance. No association with "minor" chronic disorders was found. The negative impact of these mental health problems on the child was more severe when a chronic illness was also present, but referrals for mental health services did not reflect his association.
Weiland et al. (Sun,) studied this question.