What about adolescents’ mental health after the pandemics? An analyses of a grade II hospital

Catarina Mendonça; Gonçalo Passos Croca; Teresa Magalhães; Mariana Viegas; Bárbara Marques; Andreia Morais

doi:10.1515/ijamh-2023-0131

Article

What about adolescents’ mental health after the pandemics? An analyses of a grade II hospital

Catarina Mendonça , Gonçalo Passos Croca , Teresa Magalhães , Mariana Viegas , Bárbara Marques and Andreia Morais

Published/Copyright: May 24, 2024

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From the journal International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health Volume 36 Issue 4

Abstract

Objectives

Suicidal ideation and suicide are serious situations that affect children and adolescents. The restrictions imposed by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic have had a significant negative impact, due to social isolation, prolonged screen exposure and reduced outdoor activities. This study aims to compare the access to the Pediatric Emergency Department due to suicidal ideation and suicide attempts before and during the pandemic.

Methods

This descriptive and retrospective study analyzed clinical records of children/adolescents who attended a Level II Pediatric Emergency Department of a hospital due to suicidal ideation and/or suicide attempts, between March 2018 and March 2020 (pre-pandemic period) and April 2020 to March 2022 (pandemic period). Demographic (age and sex) and clinical (psychopharmacological therapy, discharge destination and follow-up psychiatric/psychological consultations) variables were collected. Statistical analysis was performed using Microsoft Excel 2022^® and SPSS v20.0^®, considering statistical significance at p<0.05.

Results

A total of 71 children/adolescents were admitted for suicidal ideation, with a median age of 15 years (minimum: 10 years, maximum: 17 years), 27 in pre-pandemic period and 44 in pandemic period (p<0.001). The majority were girls, with a significant increase in pandemic period (pre-pandemic: 55.6 %, pandemic: 79.6 %; p<0.05). The age group with the highest increase in admissions was 15 years. There was a significant increase in suicidal attempts among girls (p<0.05) as well as self-harm behaviors (p<0.01). There was also a significant increase in the number of psychology/child psychiatry follow-up consultations in pandemic period (p<0.05). Most patients were referred to another hospital in both periods (pre-pandemic: 55.6 %, pandemic: 68.2 %) at discharge.

Conclusions

During the pandemic period, there was an increase in the number of suicidal ideation cases, particularly among females, as well as in suicide attempts cases, which appears to be correlated with the pandemic restrictions. Larger-scale studies are needed to draw more accurate conclusions.

Keywords: suicide ideation; mental health; pediatrics; SARS-CoV-2; pandemics

Corresponding author: Catarina Mendonça, Pediatric Department, Centro Hospitalar do Oeste (Unidade de Caldas da Rainha) – Hospital das Caldas da Rainha, Rua Diário de Notícias 2500-176 Caldas da Rainha, Portugal, E-mail: cgmendonca95@gmail.com

Research ethics: All the procedures followed were I accordance with the regulations established by the authorities of the Clinical and Ethical Investigation and in accordance with the 2013 updated Declaration of Helsinki by the World Medical Association.
Previous presentations: The statistical data was presented at the 2022 Portuguese National Pediatric Congress in the form of poster.
Informed consent: Not applicable.
Author contributions: CM: Conceived and designed the study; acquired, analyzed, and interpreted the data; drafted the manuscript; critically revised the manuscript. GPC, TM, MV, BM, AM: Analyzed and interpreted the data; critically revised the manuscript. The authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.
Competing interests: The authors state no conflict of interest.
Research funding: None declared.
Data availability: The raw data can be obtained on request from the corresponding author.

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Received: 2023-08-20

Accepted: 2024-05-02

Published Online: 2024-05-24

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Articles in the same Issue

https://doi.org/10.1515/ijamh-2023-0131

Keywords for this article

suicide ideation; mental health; pediatrics; SARS-CoV-2; pandemics