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TOPLINE
Children and adolescents diagnosed with intellectual developmental disorder (IDD) had a higher risk for incident depression and anxiety than peers without developmental disorders.
METHODOLOGY
- Researchers conducted a retrospective cohort study using linked national health insurance and disability data from South Korea (2004-2020) to assess the link between IDD and incident depression and anxiety in children and adolescents aged 2-17 years.
- The analysis included 59,033 children and adolescents with IDD who were age- and sex-matched with 177,099 peers without developmental disorders (overall mean age, 9.3 years; 64.2% males).
- Incident depression and anxiety, defined using diagnostic codes, were the primary outcomes.
- Participants were followed up for a mean duration of 9.7 years for depression and 9.5 years for anxiety.
TAKEAWAY
- During follow-up, 20.1% of participants with IDD were diagnosed with incident depression and 21.9% were diagnosed with incident anxiety.
- Children and adolescents with IDD had higher risks for incident depression (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 2.18; 95% CI, 2.13-2.24) and anxiety (aHR, 1.85; 95% CI, 1.80-1.89) than those without developmental disorders.
- Males with IDD had higher risks for both incident depression (aHR, 2.46; 95% CI, 2.39-2.54) and anxiety (aHR, 2.06; 95% CI, 2.00-2.12) than peers without developmental disorders. However, among those with IDD, females had higher risks for depression (aHR, 1.06; 95% CI,1.02-1.10) and anxiety (aHR,1.14; 95% CI, 1.10-1.18) than males.
- The risks for incident depression and anxiety were higher among participants with IDD aged 2-5 years, those aged 6-8 years, those who lived in urban areas, and those having a mild comorbidity burden than among peers without developmental disorders.
IN PRACTICE
"[The study] findings highlight the substantial mental health burden among children and adolescents with IDD and underscore the importance of early identification and targeted support for at-risk subgroups," the authors wrote.
SOURCE
The study was led by Jimin Clara Park of Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee. It was published online on October 12, 2026, in JAMA Network Open.
LIMITATIONS
The data used for the study came from insurance claims that are collected for billing rather than research because of which some depression and anxiety diagnoses may not be optimally identified. Outcomes may have been misclassified, particularly among children who were younger or those with severe IDD. Information on the severity of IDD and of the outcomes studied was not available.
DISCLOSURES
The study was funded by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea, the National Research Foundation of Korea, and Korea University. The authors reported no conflicts of interest.
This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.
