Psychological disorders and suicide attempts in youths during the pre-COVID and post-COVID era in a Taiwan pediatric emergency department

Frontiers in Psychology

Psychology

Mao-Jen Lin¹  Wun-Yan Huang²  Han-Ping Wu³  Bei-Cyuan Guo⁴  Ying-Ju Chen⁵ 

[1]Department of Medicine, Taichung Tzu Chi Hospital, The Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, Taichung, Taiwan

[2]Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan

[3]Department of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, China Medical University Children’s Hospital, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan

[4]Department of Pediatrics, Chiayi Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chiayi, Taiwan

[5]College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan

[6]Department of Pediatrics, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan

[7]Department of Rehabilitation, New Tai-Ping Cheng Ching Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan

关键词: COVID-19;    psychological disorders;    psychological fragility;    suicidal attempt;    overdose;    emergency department;    pediatric patients;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1281806

 received in 2023-08-23, accepted in 2023-10-02,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on pediatric patients, increasing their vulnerability to psychological fragility. The aim of this study was to investigate the epidemiology and clinical spectrum of pediatric psychological fragility and suicide attempts in the emergency department (ED) before and after the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak.MethodsA total of 340 pediatric patients admitted to the ED for psychological fragility between 2019 and 2022 were retrospectively collated and categorized according to three periods: pre pandemic, pandemic, and post pandemic. Epidemiological and clinical information were analyzed and compared among the three groups. Moreover, patients with suicidal ideation or suicidal attempts and types of substance use disorders in children with suicidal attempts sent to the ED were analyzed.ResultsThe proportion of psychological fragility increased during the pandemic period (0.4%) and the post-pandemic period (0.8%) compared to that in the pre-pandemic period (0.28%). Suicide ideation was the highest before the pandemic period (0.04%), while suicidal attempts were the highest in the post pandemic period (0.42%). Significantly elevated trends in suicide attempts involving overdose and injury were observed among the three groups (p < 0.05). Intensive care unit (ICU) admission rates increased significantly after the COVID-19 outbreak (p < 0.05), and major depressive disorder was the most common psychological fragility in the ED in all three groups.ConclusionAn increase in the proportion of pediatric psychological fragility in the ED was noted in the post pandemic period than before or during the pandemic. With higher rates of ICU admissions and an increase in suicide attempts among children and adolescents during the pandemic compared to before or after the pandemic, it is of utmost importance to provide mental health support to this vulnerable population in order to prevent suicide attempts in the event of a new global outbreak of infectious diseases.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
Copyright © 2023 Guo, Chen, Huang, Lin and Wu.