Does this concern you?
A trend no one likes to see is a rise in the rates of mental illness and developmental disorders in children. A study released early this year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that one in 150 American children are suffering from autism—a statistic that shows a consistent rise in the disorder. And just as young people are dealing with health conditions previously associated with middle age (like high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes), more children and adolescents are now being diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Results from a recent study showed that bipolar diagnosis in young people has increased more than 40 times over the past decade.
http://health.msn.com/health-topics/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100184017>1=10710
Comments
rates and the rat race
Is the fact bipolar disorder is diagnosed 40 times more in young people anywhere related to the availability of medication for that disorder. Higher diagnosis rates are often not at all related to higher illness rates, but are usually due to changes in diagnostics. Compared to 1980 we have an infinite increase in bipolar disorder, cause in that year the term was labelled.
I believe higher diagnoses rates are usually related to the popularity of therapies, most often due to the marketing powers behind certain types of medication.
label-makers
It seems to me, in a field where there are few tools to test the function of brain-mechanisms, or mechanics, it's easy to use a written manual that says: use this pill to cure the ills that are ailing this person.
But what do I know, I'm just the trained RN that followed doctor's orders scribbled on the patient's chart.