Sejong City Elementary Students' Mental Health in Crisis... Depression Diagnoses More Than Triple Seoul's

Diagnosis Rate Up to 6.4 Times Higher Among Older Children
Sejong City Records 782 Cases per 100,000... Far Exceeds National Average

The number of elementary school students diagnosed with depression has surged 2.4 times over the past five years. The data also shows a trend of higher diagnosis rates among older children and among boys.

On July 9, the Elementary School Teachers' Union announced the results of its analysis of National Health Insurance Service medical statistics from 2020 to 2024. According to the analysis, the number of children aged 6 to 11 diagnosed with depression increased from 2,066 in 2020 to 4,892 in 2024, a 2.4-fold increase over the period.

By age group, there was a clear trend of higher depression diagnosis rates among older children. As of 2023, the number of children diagnosed with depression per 100,000 population was 48 for 6-year-olds, but 309 for 11-year-olds, which is about 6.4 times higher. The Elementary School Teachers' Union explained, "This shows that as students advance to higher grades, emotional burdens and stress factors act in a complex way."

By gender, the diagnosis rate was higher among boys than girls. The number of children diagnosed with depression per 100,000 population was 246 for boys and 138 for girls, with boys consistently recording higher figures.

There were also significant differences in diagnosis rates by region. Sejong City recorded the highest rate nationwide, with 782 children diagnosed with depression per 100,000 population. This is significantly higher than other major cities such as Seoul (249), Busan (168), and Chungnam (141).

Jung Sugyeong, head of the Elementary School Teachers' Union, emphasized, "Early detection and intervention for childhood depression, including in lower elementary grades, is more important than anything else," adding, "It is urgent to develop customized support measures that take into account gender and regional characteristics."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.