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Children with chronic physical conditions (CPCs) such as asthma, migraines, and diabetes are known to be at higher risk for chronic mental health disorders. However, most prior studies were cross-sectional and thus unable to examine how mental health problems emerge over time or explain the mechanisms underlying this association.
To address these limitations, researchers analyzed longitudinal data from over 48,000 children and young adults aged 6–25 years participating in a nationally representative study. Participants had no mental health conditions at baseline and were followed for 2 years. Parents and adult children were sequentially interviewed about medical and mental health problems in the family.
Youth with CPCs had a 51% higher risk f…