

Hospitalizations for eating disorders for children and youth, age 10 to 17 * Includes all drugs dispensed in community pharmacies in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and British Columbia. In 2020, rates were more than 2 times higher for females than males. There has been a steady increase in the use of mood and anxiety medication by children and youth age 5 to 24 in the past 5 years.* In 2016, the rate of medication use was 6,071 per 100,000. Children and youth dispensed mood and anxiety medications per 100,000, age 5 to 24 Females age 15 to 17 were 2 times more likely to be hospitalized as males the same age. In 2020, 58% of hospitalizations for mental health disorders for children and youth age 5 to 24 were for females and 42% were for males. Reference1 Children and youth hospitalizations for mental health disorders, by sex In 2020, Kids Help Phone reported twice as many interactions (phone calls, texts, use of self-directed help resources) across Canada compared with 2019. Nearly 1 in 4 hospitalizations for children and youth age 5 to 24 were for mental health conditions in 2020. The proportion of hospitalizations that were for mental health disorders increased from 21% in 2019 to 23% in 2020. There were an additional 122,996 children and youth hospitalizations for all other conditions. In 2020, there were 36,708 children and youth hospitalizations for mental health disorders. There were an additional 146,845 children and youth hospitalizations for all other conditions.

In 2019, there were 39,801 children and youth hospitalizations for mental health disorders. Number of children and youth hospitalizations, age 5 to 24
