Functional difficulty in child population

Objective. To estimate the prevalence of functional difficulties in Mexican children and adolescents aged 5 to 17 years and calculate population profiles for 2021–2023. Materials and methods. We used the child functioning module developed by the Washington group and the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (Unicef).We calculated prevalence and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) and population profiles using logistic regression models. Results. We found that 18.1% of children aged 5 to 17 have functional difficulties, with a higher prevalence in girls. Anxiety, depression, and making friends were the domains with the highest prevalence. Being a girl, having an unmarried/not cohabiting mother with a secondary education are characteristics that increase the likelihood of having functional difficulties. Physical punishment is also positively associated with functional difficulties. Conclusion. Public policy should focus on facilitating access to screening, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation for children and adolescents with functional difficulties, especially if they have characteristics that increase the likelihood of these difficulties.