The aim of this study was to describe the characteristics of children and adolescents admitted to the psychiatric emergency department (ED) of a French public teaching hospital over a six-year study period (2001–2006). Data for all episodes of care in the psychiatric ED from January 1, 2001, to December 31, 2006, delivered to adolescents aged less than 18 years were retrospectively analyzed. During the six-year study period, 335 episodes of care in the psychiatric ED were experienced by 264 different adolescents. They accounted for 2.0% of the 16,754 care episodes of the ED; 164 patients (62.1) were female and the average age was 16.5 (SD = 1.6). The neurotic, stress-related, and somatoform disorders were the most frequent (25.4%) and concerned mainly anxiety disorders (15.2%). The frequency of the absence of psychiatric diagnosis (22.7%) was high. A total of 48 children and adolescents (18.2%) benefited from more than one episode of care. Several factors were associated to a higher number of visits to the ED: substance use, schizophrenia, disorders of adult personality and behaviour, disorders occurring in childhood and adolescence, and dual diagnosis. In conclusion, mental health disorders in children and adolescents are a serious problem associated with several potentially modifiable factors. 1. Introduction Mental health disorders in children and adolescents are a growing public health problem in developed countries [1, 2]. The prevalence of these disorders in France and in the United States has been estimated to be at least 12.5% and 20%, respectively [3–5]. According to the World Health Organization in 2001, mental health problems among children and adolescents have increased in recent years and are predicted to increase by 50% by the year 2020 [6]. Management of these mental health care needs remains challenging. A special effort should be made to improve access to needed mental health care services [1]. Mental health disorders among children and adolescents are often unrecognised and untreated [4, 7]. Once identified, only 1 in 5 children and adolescents with mental health problems receive mental health treatment [8–10], and the absence of health insurance coverage plays a critical role in access to mental health care services [11]. Given the high proportion of unmet mental health care needs among children and adolescents, psychiatric emergency departments (PEDs) often serve as the entry point into the mental health system [7, 10]. Developing a better knowledge and understanding of the characteristics of children and adolescents presenting to
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