Peer-reviewed article
Mental health multimorbidity and physical conditions in children aged 6-17 years in the United States.
He H, Li F, Ding G, Li F ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined mental health multimorbidity (co-occurring mental health conditions) in over 30,000 US children aged 6-17 years and found that children with multiple mental health problems also experience significantly higher rates of physical conditions. Four distinct mental health profiles were identified, ranging from low concerns to severe developmental and emotional problems. The research found that physical health risks increased with each additional mental health condition, particularly when children had more than three disorders.
Key points
- Four distinct mental health profiles identified: developmental delay/intellectual disability with mixed problems (8.0%), emotional problems (8.2%), ADHD with behavioural problems (8.0%), and low mental health concerns (75.8%)
- Children with developmental delay/intellectual disability showed the strongest associations with neurological and hearing conditions
- Emotional problems were more strongly associated with headaches and respiratory issues compared to ADHD with behavioural problems
- Clear dose-response relationship observed: physical disease risk increased for each additional mental health problem, especially with more than 3 co-occurring disorders
- Mental health multimorbidity patterns are profile-specific, requiring tailored clinical approaches rather than generic interventions
Limitations
This is a cross-sectional study, so it cannot establish causal relationships between mental health multimorbidity and physical conditions. The study describes associations at one point in time and does not track outcomes over time or test interventions.
Abstract
Background The rising prevalence and early onset of mental health problems among children and adolescents pose a critical public health challenge. Aims This study aimed to identify distinct profiles of mental health multimorbidity, examine their associations with physical conditions and evaluate the dose-response relationships between the number of mental health multimorbidities and physical condition risk. Methods Using cross-sectional data from 30 556 children aged 6-17 years in the 2023 United States National Survey of Children's Health, we applied latent class analysis to derive multimorbidity profiles from nine mental health problems. Multivariable logistic regression assessed associations with 15 physical conditions. Dose-response relationships were evaluated based on the number of co-occurring mental health conditions. Results Four distinct profiles were identified: developmental delay/intellectual disability with mixed problems (DD/ID with MP, 8.0%), emotional problems (8.2%), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder with behavioural problems (ADHD-BP, 8.0%) and low mental health concerns (75.8%). The three clinical profiles exhibited a significant physical disease burden. DD/ID with MP showed the strongest associations with neurological and hearing conditions. Although emotional problems and ADHD-BP shared a similar risk profile, emotional problems showed stronger associations with headaches and respiratory issues. A dose-response relationship was observed, with physical disease risk increasing for each additional mental health problem, particularly among children with > 3 disorders. Conclusions Mental health multimorbidity is significantly associated with increased physical condition risk in a profile-specific and dose-dependent manner. This underscores the need for integrated clinical strategies that account for transdiagnostic patterns and comorbidity burden to enhance risk stratification and tailor interventions in paediatric populations.