New Delhi According to research, throughout the last 20 years, the incidence of chronic illnesses, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, asthma, prediabetes, and depression or anxiety, has increased to previously unheard-of proportions in the US: 30%.

According to the report, around 25 million young individuals between the ages of 5 and 25—nearly one in three—are thought to now be dealing with these childhood-onset diseases. Their lives are being severely impacted and constrained by it.

According to main author Lauren Wisk, an associate professor of medicine at the University of California-Los Angeles in the United States, “the prevalence of childhood conditions is currently higher than previous estimates suggest.”

“Chronic conditions are more common among youth who are socioeconomically vulnerable, such as those who are unemployed, have a lower income, are on public insurance, or have less education,” Wisk said.

About 236,500 individuals in the US, ages 5 to 25, had their data analyzed for the study, which was published in the peer-reviewed journal Academic Pediatrics.

They discovered that the prevalence among kids aged 5 to 17 increased from over 23% in 1999–2000 to over 30% in 2017–2018. An estimated 130,000 more children are born each year as a result.

Over the same time period, the prevalence among young individuals aged 18 to 25 years rose from 18.5% to 29%, affecting over 80,000 more young adults annually.

According to Wisk, almost all of the ailments are curable given access to first-rate medical treatment.

In order to safeguard these young people’s health and wellbeing, the researcher called for more funding to help them interact with healthcare in a suitable manner throughout their lives.