Increasing referrals to emergency department for psychiatric consultation and treatment among 50,056 adolescents and young adults: Predictors and implications.

Among adolescents and young adults aged 15 to 24 years old ED appears to be necessary for young help-seeking subjects given the severe presentations and the increasing number of adolescents referring to ED. More studies should assess whether ED might be helpful in detecting subjects with sub-threshold or early psychiatric symptoms, or at risk for severe mental illness.