Confirmation of increased and more severe adolescent mental health-related in-patient admissions in the COVID-19 pandemic aftermath: A 2-year follow-up study

Dario Marin; Gianfranco Di Gennaro; Margherita Baracetti; Rossella Zanetti; Matteo Balestrieri; Paola Cogo; Marco Colizzi

doi:10.1016/j.psycom.2023.100119

Confirmation of increased and more severe adolescent mental health-related in-patient admissions in the COVID-19 pandemic aftermath: A 2-year follow-up study

Psychiatry Res Commun. 2023 Jun;3(2):100119. doi: 10.1016/j.psycom.2023.100119. Epub 2023 Mar 13.

Authors

Dario Marin^{1

2}, Gianfranco Di Gennaro³, Margherita Baracetti⁴, Rossella Zanetti¹, Matteo Balestrieri⁵, Paola Cogo⁴, Marco Colizzi^{5

6}

Affiliations

¹ Unit of Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry, Friuli Centrale Health University Authority, 33100, Udine, Italy.
² Department of Agricultural, Food, Environmental and Animal Sciences (DI4A), University of Udine, 33100, Udine, Italy.
³ Department of Health Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Catanzaro Magna Græcia, 88100, Catanzaro, Italy.
⁴ Unit of Pediatrics, Department of Medicine (DAME), University of Udine, 33100, Udine, Italy.
⁵ Unit of Psychiatry, Department of Medicine (DAME), University of Udine, 33100, Udine, Italy.
⁶ Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, SE5 8AF, UK.

Abstract

COVID-19 pandemic may have affected youth's mental wellbeing. Youth admissions for mental health emergencies over the 2-year period following the COVID-19 outbreak (March 2020-February 2022) were compared to those occurring in the same period of 2018-2020, with reference to individual and clinical data. The study identified 30 admissions in the pre-pandemic period and 65 (+116.7%) in the post-pandemic period, with the latter being younger, less likely to have a personal psychiatric history, and more likely to receive psychopharmacological treatment. A higher likelihood of earlier, ex novo psychiatric manifestations, requiring medication to reach clinical stability, in the post-COVID era, is suggested.

Keywords: Child and adolescent neuropsychiatry; Psychopharmacological therapy; Risk factors.