Dismal numbers released Tuesday by the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics indicate 15 percent of America's children aged five to 17 recently received treatmentt for mental health conditions in 2021, raising concerns about the depth of the country's ever-expanding mental health crisis.
Adolescents showed the worst numbers in the data brief, with 18.9% of children aged 12 to 17 receiving treatment – including therapy and counseling or prescription medication – versus 11.3% of children belonging to the younger age group.
Data also showed the White children were the most likely racial demographic to receive mental health treatment and children in urban areas were more likely to receive treatment compared to those in rural areas.
The numbers confirm trends in recent years that warned of a downward slope in terms of mental wellbeing, with a cocktail of issues, including the COVID-19 pandemic, social media and other environmental stressors creating a recipe for disaster.
Dr. Gregory Jantz, a psychologist and teen depression specialist assessed the data in an email to Fox News Digital on Wednesday, saying the even more alarming statistic is the one indicating a shocking number of youth aren't receiving the care they need.
"According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the highest rate for experiencing mental health conditions is among those 18-25 years old (30.6%). According to Mental Health America, 60.3% of youth with major depression did not receive any mental health treatment," he wrote.
"If US children (5-17) do not receive the mental health care they need, the need doesn’t go away and follows them into adulthood. Reaching adulthood does not automatically translate into higher access of services."
He added that shortages of mental health providers could exacerbate the crisis.
AS EMERGENCY ROOMS SEE MORE OF AMERICA'S MENTALLY ILL KIDS, NEW STUDY PINPOINTS ISSUES
"While the number of children accessing mental health services has increased, this does not mean there are enough professionals to provide what is needed. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for US children, ages 10-14, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)," he warned.
"Currently, there is a general shortage of mental health professionals able to provide care. According to NAMI, there is one provider for every 350 people in need of services."
Parents who are seeking mental health treatment for their kids should seek out a provider who has the credentials needed to provide adequate care for children, Jantz said. He also urged parents to seek input from other adults who are commonly around their children if they are unsure of whether they should be concerned about their child's mental health.
Additionally concerning, just months ago, the Pediatrics Journal analyzed Medicaid data and discovered that 26% of children who had visited the ER over mental health concerns did so more than once within six months. The study confirmed reports of upticks in parents taking their kids to the ER over mental health concerns.
Dr. Jennifer Hoffmann, an attending emergency physician and assistant professor of pediatrics at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, told Fox News Digital at the time that the purpose of getting kids to the ER for treatment is to establish ongoing treatment to help tackle the issue.
ADVENTUROUS CHILDHOOD MAY PLAY BUFFER AGAINST ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION: STUDY
She added that one of the issues with treatment is that most who seek it once fail to follow up later.
CDC data indicated that, between March and November 2020, during the COVID pandemic, mental health-related emergency room visits rose by 31% for children aged 12 to 17 and by 24% for kids aged 5 to 11.
The crisis rears its ugly head in other ways, including separate CDC data indicating that depression and anxiety have increased over time, now with approximately 5.8 million children suffering from anxiety and approximately 2.7 million suffering from depression.
Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy sounded the alarm on a similar mental health problem affecting many across the U.S., namely what he described as a "loneliness epidemic," an issue that could have deadly consequences.
"We now know that loneliness is a common feeling that many people experience. It's like hunger or thirst. It's a feeling the body sends us when something we need for survival is missing," Murthy said, per The Associated Press.
"Millions of people in America are struggling in the shadows, and that's not right," he continued. "That's why I issued this advisory to pull back the curtain on a struggle that too many people are experiencing."
Murthy released the 81-page advisory on the topic last month, warning that the physical dangers of loneliness compare to those of smoking.
