Loading...
Adolescent fertility rates in developed countries have declined substantially in recent years, but the decrease is not uniform among all subgroups. Investigators in Ontario, Canada combined administrative and healthcare data from 1999 to 2009 to compare age specific fertility rates (ASFRs) among adolescent girls (age range, 15–19 years) with and without major mental illness. Girls were classified as having major mental illness if they had a hospital discharge diagnosis or at least one physician claim for major depression or bipolar or psychotic disorder within 5 years before pregnancy.
The two groups had similar socioeconomic status and most girls lived in urban areas. Girls with mental illness had higher overall ASFRs than unaffected girls …