GENEVA, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Emergency hospital admissions of young people in Switzerland are on the increase for psychiatric problems, especially attempted suicides, the most common cause of death in the country among youths, according to a report by Swiss national broadcaster SRF on Friday.
The psychiatric problems include anxiety disorders, eating disorders, depression and suicidal thoughts, but especially attempted suicides, the report says.
According to figures from the University Psychiatric Hospital in Zurich, for example, the number of emergency cases involving children and adolescents rising steadily from 46 in 2007 to nearly 650 in 2017, of which around 90 percent of cases involve self-harm. In-patient cases also reached a new high in 2017 at the Zurich hospital.
Doctors at the hospital say the figures are alarming and show that young people facing life problems are more suicidal than a few years ago.
The report also cites rising numbers of young people in psychiatric units in Bern and Aargau, with the majority of cases involving young people at risk of suicide, according to experts at the University Psychiatric Hospital in Bern.
Suicide is the most common cause of death in Switzerland among 15- to 19-year-olds. In 2015, 35 young people in that age group took their own lives, according to the Federal Statistical Office, but the overall suicide rate has remained fairly stable over recent years.
According to the Zurich hospital, medical institutions in Switzerland are currently offering help at an early stage, while the number of hospital places has been increased and society is more sensitive to young people facing such crises than just a few years ago.
Statistics also show that the proportion of boys who take their own lives is much higher than girls, roughly at a ratio of three to one. In contrast, the proportion of girls in psychiatric treatment is higher. Doctors say this is because girls tend to talk more about their problems.
