Psychiatric outcomes associated with chronic illness in adolescence: A systematic review

Abstract

Recent years have seen an increased focus on the high rates of psychiatric comorbidities in adults with chronic illness. This systematic review explored whether chronic illness in adolescents was similarly associated with poor psychiatric outcomes. The literature search identified 129 articles, only 5 of which were indicated to be at a low risk of methodological bias. Four of these articles found a strong relationship between asthma in adolescence and an increase in the prevalence of anxiety and depressive disorders, while the remaining article, which focused on diabetes mellitus, indicated similarly increased rates of psychiatric illness. Trends among the remaining studies suggested that many illnesses were not associated with poor adolescent mental health. Please note that chronic conditions with a neurological aetiology were excluded from the main review due to indications of qualitative differences in comorbidities. Findings highlight that the well-being of adolescents with chronic illness warrants a specific research focus.

Keywords: Adolescents; Anxiety; Chronic illness; Depression; Systematic review.