OBJECTIVES: Despite Sweden’s good child health statistics, data on the mental health and wellbeing of Swedish preschool children is scarce and not routinely collected in healthcare. The study aimed to: identify the proportion of preschool children with mental health and somatic problems, the public sector services used by these children and whether they differ by type of problems, investigate whether other factors affect service use, and estimate the costs associated with these services.

METHODS: This study used cross-sectional data on a sample of 3175 children aged 3-5 from the “Children and Parents in Focus trial”. Data on service use, child health and demographics were obtained from primary caregivers. Child mental health was assessed by both primary caregivers and teachers.

RESULTS: CONCLUSIONS: Mental health problems among preschool children are particularly high compared to studies from other countries. There is a need to strengthen school mental health services to engage in proactive early identification of children with mental health problems so that appropriate care is provided.