A girl aged just six years was among more than 60 children admitted to Irish psychiatric units last year. Another admission was a boy aged eight, while a girl aged nine and two 11-year-old boys were also among those who received inpatient psychiatric treatment.
Four of 66 children admitted to two children's psychiatric units were admitted for treatment of depression while two had a mental handicap. The youngest children admitted to the units in 2002 were nine-year-olds.
The figures are contained in a Health Research Board report published yesterday which chronicles the activities of the psychiatric services in 2003.
The report states there were more than 23,000 admissions to the psychiatric services last year. There were also 249 deaths in psychiatric units and hospitals, 13 of them by suicide.
Some 303 episodes of patients engaging in serious self-harm were also reported.
The South Eastern Health Board had the highest rate of admissions at 938.6 per 100,000 while the North Eastern Health Board had the lowest. Its rate was almost half that of the SEHB at 479.3 per 100,000.
Three main diagnoses accounted for two-thirds of all admissions - depressive disorders accounted for 33 per cent, schizophrenia accounted for 18 per cent and alcoholic disorders for 16 per cent. Eleven per cent of all admissions were involuntary, a figure which has remained constant for the past 13 years. Highest rates of involuntary admissions were found in the Mid Western Health Board region.
There were clear social class differences in admission rates with much higher rates for disadvantaged groups. People aged 45 to 54 had the highest admission rates while the single, widowed and divorced had higher admission rates than married people.
Overall the report states that admissions have continued to fall. They fell from 23,677 in 2002 to 23,031 in 2003 and from a peak of 29,392 in 1986. This reflects the increased tendency to treat psychiatric patients in the community.
A total of 3,658 patients were resident in psychiatric hospitals and units at the end of 2003. Fourteen per cent of these had a mental handicap and 39 per cent of all those in residence had been there for more than five years.
The report said more than 850 patients were recorded as having received ECT - electro-convulsive therapy.
"While this treatment has generally been declining in recent years, there were substantial differences in the frequency of its usage between services, with some reporting no administration during the year and others continuing to use it," it said.
ECT, which is used in the treatment of depressive disorders, was used most often in the South Eastern Health Board, South Western Area Health Board and Western Health Board regions. In 163 instances, it was used in private hospitals.
The rate of first admissions by diagnoses is reported by county and regional variations are clear, according to Dr Dermot Walsh, principal investigator at the Health Research Board and a former inspector of mental hospitals.
"The range of rates reported for depressive disorders was considerable, from 157.7 per 100,000 population aged 16 and over in Co Wexford to 20.1 in Co Monaghan," he said. "These regional trends could be attributed to variations in service provision and differences in clinical practice, but this would need closer investigation."