Cost of mental health for young women higher than for men
The Federal Office of Public Health has recognised the increasing problem of mental health issues among youth and has stated it will release a report at the end of the year
Online_yes San Francisco Chronicle
The cost of mental health treatment for young people in Switzerland is on the rise, with female patients accounting for an ever-larger slice of the bill, according to research of health insurance records.
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Tages Anzeiger-SDA / aa
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The Tamedia media group, along with the Santésuisse health insurer, has uncovered evidence of how mental health issues for 11 to 18-year-olds is increasingly straining resources in Switzerland.
One in 10 teenagers and young adults sought mental healthcare treatment during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to one doctor interviewed by the Tages Anzeiger newspaper on Wednesday. But the rising number of cases in the last few years is also blamed on a variety of other social and work factors that heap pressure on younger people.
Female patients are bearing the brunt of mental health issues and are more likely to require extensive treatments or be hospitalised, according to the analysis of costs between 2011 and 2021.
These show that the average annual cost of mental health treatments for young female patients, aged 11 to 18, was CHF350 ($388), compared to the CHF185 ($205) average annual cost for male patients.
In 2021 the cost of psychiatric services for young female patients rose from 17% of all health treatments in 2017 to 20% in 2021. For young males the mental health proportion of overall health costs remained constant at around 14%.
“We live in an era that is more psychologically stressful for young people,” Alain Di Gallo, Chief Physician at the psychiatry clinic in Basel, told the TagesAnzeiger. The increasing numbers of patients also reflect the fact that the issue of mental health is losing its stigma, allowing people to get help sooner.
The Federal Office of Public Health has recognised the increasing problem of mental health issues among youth and has stated it will release a report at the end of the year. The report will outline measures to improve mental health care services, with a focus on children and adolescents.
In 2021, psychological problems became the top cause of hospitalisations of 10-24-year-olds in Switzerland, surpassing injuries for the first time.
Such cases rose by 22% in 2021 among young women, and 13% among young men.
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