2 mn Italian kids suffering from mental issues

(ANSA) - ROME, MAY 10 - Two million Italian children and youths under the age of 17 are suffering from mental issues, the Italian Society of Infant and Teen Neuropsychiatry (SINPIA) said Tuesday.
    The number of children and teenagers using psychiatric services has doubled in 10 years, SINPIA said.
    It said the trend had deepened since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
    "The doubling of youth psychiatric disorders is certainly an expression of a trend already present in the 10 previous years, but the pandemic has shown how a fall in collective attention for the psychiatric needs of children and adolescents may have dramatic consequences on their mental health and their overall development, especially for those who already presented vulnerabilities," said SINPIA Past-President Antonella Costantino, director of the operational unity for of Infant and Teen Neuropsychiatry at Milan's Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico Hospital. (ANSA).