EVEN BEFORE
COVID-19,
MILLIONS OF
CHILDREN &
TEENAGER’s
REPORTED THEIR MENTAL
HEALTH CONCERNS

CURRENT 
DATA

- GROWING CONCERN -

3.5M

1.9M

0.9M

0.6M

EXPERIENCED MAJOR
DEPRESSIVE EPISODE IN 2020.

DID NOT RECEIVE TREATMENT
AFTER REPORTING MDE.

RESORTED TO SUBSTANCE
ABUSE DUE TO LACK
OF TREATMENT.

RECEIVED TREATMENT
AFTER REPORTING
MDE IN 2020. 

- CURRENT STATS  -

70 MILLION+

Americans suffer from mental illness, spread across all ethnic, socio-economic and age ranges

17 MILLION+

US adults have had at least one major
depressive episode in the past year

30%

Increase in annual US suicide rate since 2001 

$4.6 BILLION

Spent annually in the U.S. on unnecessary ER visits for mental illness 

$192 BILLION

Of annual lost wages and lost productivity in U.S. as a result

There are 42Million children & young adults in the US,
and the data is worrisome, as we are pushing them
towards substance abuse by ignoring their
mental health concerns

- CURRENT STATS  -

Mental, behavioral, and developmental disorders begin in early childhood:

- 1 in 6 U.S. children aged 2–8 years (17.4%) had a diagnosed mental, behavioral, or developmental disorder.
- Diagnoses of depression and anxiety are more common with increased age.
- Behavior problems are more common among children aged 6–11 years than children younger or older.

Treatment rates vary among different mental disorders:

- Nearly 8 in 10 children (78.1%) aged 3-17 years with depression received treatment.
- 6 in 10 children (59.3%) aged 3-17 years with anxiety received treatment.
- More than 5 in 10 children (53.5%) aged 3-17 years with behavior disorders received treatment.

Depression and anxiety have increased over time:

- Nearly 8 in 10 children (78.1%) aged 3-17 years with depression received treatment.
- 6 in 10 children (59.3%) aged 3-17 years with anxiety received treatment.
- More than 5 in 10 children (53.5%) aged 3-17 years with behavior disorders received treatment.

ADHD, behavior problems, anxiety, and depression are the most commonly diagnosed mental disorders in children:

- 9.4% of children aged 2-17 years (approximately 6.1 million) have received an ADHD diagnosis.
- 7.4% of children aged 3-17 years (approximately 4.5 million) have a diagnosed behavior problem.
- 7.1% of children aged 3-17 years (approximately 4.4 million) have diagnosed anxiety.
- 3.2% of children aged 3-17 years (approximately 1.9 million) have diagnosed depression. 

Some of these conditions commonly occur together. For example:

- Having another disorder is most common in children with depression: about 3 in 4 children aged 3-17 years with depression also have anxiety (73.8%) and almost 1 in 2 have behavior
problems (47.2%).
- For children aged 3-17 years with anxiety, more than 1 in 3 also have behavior problems (37.9%) and about 1 in 3 also have depression (32.3%).
- For children aged 3-17 years with behavior problems, more than 1 in 3 also have anxiety (36.6%) and about 1 in 5 also have depression (20.3%).