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Mental health issues were top cause of youth hospitalisations in 2021

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In 2020, the arrival of Covid-19 and lockdowns led to psychological stress not just for young people. © Keystone / Gaetan Bally

In 2021, psychological problems became the top cause of hospitalisations of 10-24-year-olds in Switzerland, surpassing injuries for the first time.

A total of 19,532 hospitalisations for mental health issues were recorded in 2021, said the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) on Monday. The total for physical injuries was 19,243.

Much of the increase was due to cases of neuroticism linked to stress, the FSO said. Such cases rose by 22% in 2021 among young women, and 13% among young men.

The hospitalisations included 30% of repeat patients (i.e. those who entered hospital several times in the same year). First-time patients made up around one-third of all the cases, rising by 29% on the previous year.

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Girls and young women were much more affected than young men. Overall, hospitalisations of the former jumped 26%, compared to 6% for the latter.

Young women also saw a rise of 42% in 2021 for cases of mood disorders like depression. Overall, the FSO wrote of an “exceptional increase” in problems for younger women in this area.

Hospitalisations due to self-harm or suicide attempts meanwhile rose by 26% among both sexes, coming to 3,124 cases. Again, young women were most affected: older teenage girls (15-19-years-old) accounted for the most cases overall, while younger girls (10-14-years-old) saw the biggest increase in self-harm, rising by 60%.

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