TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2023//
TI  - The persistent impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on pediatric emergency department visits for suicidal thoughts and behaviors
JO  - Suicide and life-threatening behavior
A1  - Junewicz, Alexandra
A1  - Wachtel, Jonathan M.
A1  - Okparaeke, Eugene
A1  - Guo, Fei
A1  - Farahmand, Pantea
A1  - Lois, Rebecca
A1  - Li, Annie
A1  - Stein, Cheryl R.
A1  - Baroni, Argelinda
SP  - ePub
EP  - ePub
VL  - ePub
IS  - ePub
N2  - INTRODUCTION: We examined data from a large, high acuity, pediatric psychiatric emergency department (ED) to assess both the immediate and longer-term impact of the pandemic on ED visits for suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs) among youth. <br><br>METHODS: Youth ages 5-17 years presenting at a pediatric psychiatric ED in New York, NY from March 2019-November 2021 were included in this study. Visits were categorized as pre-pandemic, pandemic year 1, or pandemic year 2. We examined changes in demographic and clinical characteristics among patients presenting across the three time periods, as well as multivariable associations between these characteristics and STBs. <br><br>RESULTS: Over 32 months, 2728 patients presented at 4161 visits. The prevalence of a discharge diagnosis of STBs increased from 21.2% pre-pandemic to 26.3% (p < 0.001) during pandemic year 1, and further increased to 30.1% (p = 0.049) during pandemic year 2. Youth were 21% more likely to receive a discharge diagnosis of STBs in pandemic year 1 (RR 1.21, 95% CI 1.07, 1.36) and 35% more likely in pandemic year 2 (RR 1.35, 95% CI 1.19, 1.52) compared to pre-pandemic baseline. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: In a large, high-acuity ED, STBs continued to increase 20 months after the initial COVID-19 lockdown. These findings highlight the persistent detrimental impact of the pandemic on youth mental health.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0363-0234
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/sltb.13016
ID  - ref1
ER  -