Specific developmental disorder

In 2025, 11,100 children and adolescents with specific developmental disorders received 87,300 contact days in outpatient care, compared with 43,200 contact days in 2019. Treatment activity increased steadily throughout the period from 2019 to 2025, and the annual increase after 2023 has been greater than in the preceding years. Nordland had the highest contact-day rate and experienced a marked increase during the last year, whereas Helgeland and Bergen, which also had high rates, are now closer to the national rate.

The contact-day rate varied considerably, ranging from 41 contact days per 1,000 children and adolescents in Østfold to 154 per 1,000 in Nordland in 2025. Thus, Nordland had a contact-day rate that was more than three times higher than that of Østfold. The variation in patient rates was of a similar magnitude.

While the variation between hospital catchment areas was substantial, there were also pronounced differences between the regional health authorities. Northern Norway Regional Health Authority had a patient rate almost twice that of South-Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority, which had the lowest rate. Furthermore, every catchment area in Northern Norway had a higher rate than any catchment area in the other regions. Western Norway Regional Health Authority also had relatively high rates; with the exception of Stavanger, all health trusts in Western Norway had rates well above the national average.

The Norwegian Health Atlas for Children and Young People found that specific developmental disorders are among the mental health conditions with the highest degree of comorbidity. During the period 2019–2023, 39% of children and adolescents with a specific developmental disorder also had outpatient contact for ADHD. Similar sex differences are observed for specific developmental disorders as for ADHD. In the 6–12 years age group, more than twice as many boys as girls receive treatment, whereas the differences between boys and girls are small in the 13–17 years age group.

Contact days for specific developmental disorders were defined according to the following criteria:

• Individuals with a diagnosis code beginning with ICD-10 codes F80, F81, F82, F83, F88, or F89 in Axis 1 (all diagnostic subcodes) within Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), or with a primary diagnosis coded F80, F81, F82, F83, F88, or F89 in specialist substance use treatment, somatic care, rehabilitation services, or by private specialists with public contracts.
• Outpatient treatment was defined as contacts where the patient was admitted and discharged on the same date, irrespective of the reported level of care. Both direct and indirect contacts were included. Only one contact per patient per day was counted.

Age: 0–17 years.

Rates were adjusted for age and sex using the direct standardisation method, with the Norwegian population in 2023 as the reference population.

Helse Førde is solely responsible for the interpretation and presentation of the data provided. The Norwegian Patient Registry (NPR) and the Norwegian Registry for Primary Health Care (KPR) are not responsible for analyses or interpretations based on data they have supplied.