We found a match
Your institution may have rights to this item. Sign in to continue.
- Title
Increased anxiety and stress-related visits to the Shanghai psychiatric emergency department during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 compared to 2018-2019.
- Authors
TianHong Zhang; Zheng Chen; XuDong Xiao; LinLin Zhou; YeGang Hu; LiHua Xu; YanYan Wei; XiaoChen Tang; HaiChun Liu; Tao Chen; HaiSu Wu; XuMing Wu; JiJun Wang
- Abstract
Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a significant and far-reaching impact on mental health. The psychiatric emergency department (PED) is pivotal in the management of acute and severe mental illnesses, especially anxiety-and stress-related disorders. Aims: This study aimed to evaluate whether changes in the frequency or patients' demographics of visiting the PED occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic among individuals with anxiety and stress-related disorders. Methods: This cross-sectional study used data on PED visit counts from the largest psychiatric hospital in China between 2018 and 2020 (before and during the COVID-19 pandemic). Data from 2020, representing the COVID-19 pandemic period, were extracted from electronic medical records and compared using descriptive statistics for the same periods in 2018 and 2019. Results: The number of PED visits related to anxiety and stress disorders per year increased from 83 in 2018 to 136 (63.9% increase) in 2019 and 239 (188.0% increase) in 2020. Compared to that in 2018 and 2019, the proportion of PED visits in 2020 among patients with anxiety and stress disorders increased significantly. Patients with anxiety-and stress-related disorders during PED visits in 2020 were younger than those in 2018 and 2019 (three-year groups: F = 9.124, df = 2, p < 0.001). Conclusion: Despite the epidemic-policy barriers against PED visits, PED care seeking has increased, thereby underscoring the need for crisis prevention services for patients with stress and anxiety disorders.
- Subjects
SHANGHAI (China); CHINA; COVID-19 pandemic; COVID-19; PSYCHIATRIC emergencies; HOSPITAL emergency services; ANXIETY disorders; ELECTRONIC health records
- Publication
Frontiers in Psychiatry, 2023, Vol 14, p1
- ISSN
1664-0640
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1146277