HCHE presents study on corona follow-up costs due to psychological stress in children and adolescents
6 July 2023
Photo: pixaby
The psychosocial stress to which children and young people in Germany were exposed during the corona pandemic has led to emotional disorders or behavioral problems and even mental illness with long-term consequences for some of those affected. For society, this means high follow-up costs in various areas, the potential size of which is in the range of several billion euros per year, even with conservative estimates. This is the result of an expert report that the University of Ulm prepared in cooperation with the Hamburg Center for Health Economics (HCHE) of the University of Hamburg on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Family and Youth. The paper was presented on Thursday, July 6, at a press conference with Federal Family Minister Lisa Paus (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen). "The expertise shows that every euro that we are now investing in the mental health of young people is well invested. In this way, we are helping to avoid significant follow-up costs in the future and also to relieve future generations financially," says Paus.
The authors of the report have calculated the consequential costs that the three symptoms of depression, anxiety disorders and eating disorders cause in children and young people: additional health costs and costs resulting from later incapacity to work and unemployment. The basis for these analyzes was formed by systematic study evaluations on psychosocial stress, endangerment of children's welfare and cost consequences in the context of the pandemic. The challenge here was that the relevant data was not yet available, or not in sufficient quantity and quality. At the same time, the scientists see an urgent need for action: "In the interests of equal intergenerational justice, long-lasting stress caused by these clinical pictures should be avoided as early as possible," says Professor Andreas Jud from the Klinik für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie/Psychotherapie Ulm. Although there are always imponderables in forecasts, one cannot wait for precise figures that will only be available in 10 or 20 years: "Then it will be too late to act."
Professor Eva-Maria Wild from the HCHE calculated the healthcare costs. "We made the best possible use of the available data material according to scientific standards in order to forecast estimated values for the total costs and thus to describe a development corridor," emphasizes Wild. The authors of the expertise underline the result that a significant improvement in the database is necessary in Germany - also for future challenges.
Please find here the press release (in german)
