Data published by Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office (FSO) this week show a sharp rise in the number of young people being admitted to hospital for mental and behavioural disorders in 2020 and 2021.
Between 2020 and 2021, hospital admissions for mental and behavioural disorders rose by 26% among girls and young women aged 10 to 24 and by 6% among males of the same age.
For the first time, mental disorders were the main cause of hospital admissions among 10 to 24 year-olds (19,532 cases), exceeding the number admitted for injuries (19,243 cases), typically the most common reason.
Hospital admissions for attempted suicide increased for the same age group by 26% and outpatient psychiatric services in hospitals registered an increase of 19% among young people.
The number of hospitalisations for mental disorders among young people aged 10 to 24 increased by 4% in 2020 and by 17% in 2021. In the adult population aged 25 and over, the rise was far lower at only 1% over both years together.
Young women more affected than young men
Compared to the previous year, 2021 saw an unprecedented 26% increase in hospitalisations for mental disorders among young women between the ages of 10 and 24. In 2020, there was a rise of 6%. Between 2012 and 2019, the average annual increase was 3%.
Between 2020 and 2021, the sharpest rise in admissions (+52%) was among 10 to 14-year-old girls. In 2021, a total of 2,015 girls in this age group were hospitalised for mental disorders. This represents 1 in 100 people in this population group.
Among young men between the ages of 10 and 24, the number of hospitalisations for mental disorders increased only moderately (+2% in 2020, +6% in 2021).
Depression in young women increased significantly
In 2020, the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic, the most common disorders among young women were mood disorders (mainly depression +14%) and psychotropic substance disorders among young men (+8%). In 2021, mood disorders also increased significantly among young men (+14%). However, among young women there was a staggering 42% increase. In particular, neurotic disorders associated with stress factors increased in 2021 (+22% in young women, +13% in young men). The other mental disorder category, which includes personality disorders and eating disorders, saw a 24% increase in young women in 2021.
In 2021, 3,124 patients aged 10 to 24 years were hospitalised for self-harm or attempted suicide, an increase of 26% compared to 2020. 70% of these hospitalisations were girls and young women. Self-injury was most common among 15- to 19-year-old women (1,240 hospitalisations in 2021). However, the group of 10 to 14-year-old girls showed the greatest increase (+60%). In 2021, girls in this age group were hospitalised at a rate eleven times higher than boys of the same age.
More on this:
FSO press release (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now
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