Young people in PICUs and ethnicity

A U.S. study of 2,991 patients under the age of 22 admitted to an emergency paediatric psychiatry department has found strikingly different patterns of diagnosis among different ethnic groups. 4.5% of African-Americans and 4.9% of Hispanics received diagnoses of psychotic disorder compared to only 2.5% of white children. Diagnoses of behavioural problems were also more common in African-American and Hispanic children (50.3% and 46.4% respectively) compared to white children (34.9%). However, white children (37.8%) were more likely to receive diagnoses of depression than African American (28.5%) or Hispanic (30.1%) children. White children were also more likely to be diagnosed with bipolar disorder and alcohol and substance abuse.

You can find out more about this research at

http://psychcentral.com/news/2008/05/20/childs-mental-health-diagnosis-influenced-by-ethnicity/2317.html