{"title":"COVID-19 and psychiatric disorders among young people: a cross-sectional study.","authors":"Tiziano Prodi, Filippo Dragogna, Beatrice Benatti, Alberto Varinelli, Simone Vanzetto, Letizia Gianfelice, Bernardo Dell'Osso","doi":"10.1097/YIC.0000000000000565","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>During the COVID-19 pandemic, a significant rise in mental health issues was observed. Particularly, children and adolescents have shown a higher risk of developing mental disorders than adults. This study aimed to describe the evolving features of the requests for psychiatric emergency interventions during the COVID-19 pandemic in young people. We conducted a cross-sectional study comparing the number, characteristics, and symptoms of people aged between 12 and 18 years old attending one Emergency Department (ED) for psychiatric issues, considering three different periods: T0 (8 March 2019-7 March 2020), T1 (8 March 2020-7 March 2021), and T2 (8 March 2021-7 March 2022). Total admissions were 220: 99 (45%) during T0, 40 (18.1%) for T1, and 81 (36.8%) for T2 ( P < 0.001). A significant decrease in the mean age from T0 to T1 was found ( P < 0.01). Admissions for psychomotor agitation decreased, while admission due to anxiety disorder and nonsuicidal self-injury raised significantly ( P < 0.05), as for first psychiatric presentation ( P < 0.01). Regarding substance use, a significant reduction was observed ( P < 0.05). The rates of eating disorders ( P < 0.001) and early insomnia ( P < 0.01) increased from T0. These findings highlight the worsening of psychiatric symptoms in the young population during the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>","PeriodicalId":13698,"journal":{"name":"International Clinical Psychopharmacology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1000,"publicationDate":"2024-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International Clinical Psychopharmacology","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1097/YIC.0000000000000565","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"PHARMACOLOGY & PHARMACY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
During the COVID-19 pandemic, a significant rise in mental health issues was observed. Particularly, children and adolescents have shown a higher risk of developing mental disorders than adults. This study aimed to describe the evolving features of the requests for psychiatric emergency interventions during the COVID-19 pandemic in young people. We conducted a cross-sectional study comparing the number, characteristics, and symptoms of people aged between 12 and 18 years old attending one Emergency Department (ED) for psychiatric issues, considering three different periods: T0 (8 March 2019-7 March 2020), T1 (8 March 2020-7 March 2021), and T2 (8 March 2021-7 March 2022). Total admissions were 220: 99 (45%) during T0, 40 (18.1%) for T1, and 81 (36.8%) for T2 ( P < 0.001). A significant decrease in the mean age from T0 to T1 was found ( P < 0.01). Admissions for psychomotor agitation decreased, while admission due to anxiety disorder and nonsuicidal self-injury raised significantly ( P < 0.05), as for first psychiatric presentation ( P < 0.01). Regarding substance use, a significant reduction was observed ( P < 0.05). The rates of eating disorders ( P < 0.001) and early insomnia ( P < 0.01) increased from T0. These findings highlight the worsening of psychiatric symptoms in the young population during the COVID-19 pandemic.
期刊介绍:
International Clinical Psychopharmacology provides an essential link between research and clinical practice throughout psychopharmacology. It reports on studies in human subjects, both healthy volunteers and patients, which relate the effects of drugs on psychological processes.
A major objective of the journal is to publish fully refereed papers which throw light on the ways in which the study of psychotropic drugs can increase our understanding of psychopharmacology. To this end the journal publishes results of early Phase I and II studies, as well as those of controlled clinical trials of psychotropic drugs in Phase II and IV. Other topics covered include the epidemiology of psychotropic drug prescribing and drug taking, the sociology of psychotropic drugs including compliance, and research into the safety and adverse effects of these compounds.