Evaluating the mental health of children in a local hospital outpatient clinic.

BACKGROUND The Questionnaire for Triage and Assessment with 30 items (QTA30) is a standardized triage and assessment tool to assess pediatric psychosomatic disorders. It was estimated that one in ten children experience difficulties with regard to their school life in Japan. We evaluated mental health in children at an outpatient clinic in a local hospital with the QTA30. METHODS All elementary and junior high school students 9 years of age or older who visited our institution between December 1, 2019 and March 31, 2020 were asked to complete the QTA30. RESULT A total of 372 children responded. Half of the children with a psychosomatic disorder and 9% of children with other chronic disorders were suspected to have poor mental health. Suspected having poor mental health was associated with higher odds of female gender (OR 1.89, 95% CI 1.07-3.39), junior high school students (OR 3.73, 95% CI 2.11-6.73), and not enjoying exercise (OR 2.13, 95% CI 1.16-3.9). The total QTA30 score was significantly worse in children with psychosomatic disorders (38.0±19.1) among children with other chronic diseases, however, only that in children with central precocious puberty (27.4±13.7) showed no differences. CONCLUSION The percentage of children suspected to have mental health problems manifest as non-psychosomatic chronic disorder was similar to the proportion of children suspected to experience difficulties with regard to their school life based on a survey. Pediatricians should carefully consider the possibility of mental health problems when children are seen in regular visit at the outpatient clinic.