Overview
- Germany’s statistics office, which reported Wednesday, said 116,300 hospital cases for 10‑ to 19‑year‑olds in 2024 were due to mental and behavioral disorders, equal to 18.9% of all stays in that age group.
- The youth tally rose 3.4% from 2023 after earlier declines between 2018 and 2020 and again in 2023, though it remains below the 2017 high of about 125,500 cases.
- Depression was the top youth diagnosis with about 33,900 cases, or 29.1%, followed by reactions to severe stress and adjustment disorders (about 11,700), alcohol‑related disorders (about 9,900), and eating disorders (about 7,300).
- Over the past two decades, inpatient mental‑health cases for 10‑ to 19‑year‑olds rose 36.5%, compared with a 4.0% increase across all ages.
- Across all ages in 2024, depression was the most frequent inpatient mental‑health diagnosis at 24.7% (about 261,600 cases), with alcohol‑related disorders second at 21.7% (about 229,900).