Increased demand for emergency cares for suicidal behavior in children and adolescents during 2021

The number of attentions registered in the last 9 months of 2021 in the pediatric emergency department equals those that occurred in the previous three years of suicidal behavior

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has supposed the biggest health crisis experienced in the 21st century, and a persistent threat to health worldwide. In terms of mental health, the relevance of age in relation to perceived stress and emotional well-being has been observed. Children and adolescents have been especially prone to develop emotional distress and mental health problems, reporting lower life satisfaction during the pandemic.

Aiming to fill this gap by describing the pattern of change in the frequency of attentions to the psychiatry emergency department of children and adolescents requesting care for suicidal ideation or attempts between 2018 and 2021, a study was conducted in which the medical records of children and adolescents attended in the pediatric emergency department of the University Hospital of San Juan de Alicante were analyzed retrospectively.

There were 138 children and adolescents (age range 8 to 17). The number of cases range from 10 attentions during 2018, 14 attentions during 2019, 26 attentions during 2020 and up to 88 attentions during 2021.

Regarding age, the proportion of care provided was significantly higher in the group over 12 years old. In terms of gender differences, it was observed that only in 2021 were there significant differences between the two sexes, with an increase in the number of girls attended.

According to the authors of this paper, the increase in the demand for emergency psychiatric cares for suicidal ideation or attempts during the year 2021 appears to reflect an unprecedented disruption in the well-being of children and adolescents, remarkably greater than that of adults. The stress of returning to the classroom, disruptions to their usual lifestyle, coupled with the lack of normalized social interactions with peers, may have led to difficulties in self-regulating emotions and acting out behaviors

These results emphasize the need to implement effective strategies to reduce suicide in this population, as well as to try to mitigate the long-term consequences of the pandemic on children's and adolescents' mental health and to provide guidance for the development of coping skills.

Original paper: García-Fernández, L., Romero-Ferreiro, V., Izquierdo-Izquierdo, M., Rodríguez, V., Alvarez-Mon, M. A., Lahera, G., Santos, J. L., & Rodriguez-Jimenez, R. (2023). Dramatic increase of suicidality in children and adolescents after COVID-19 pandemic start: A two-year longitudinal study. Journal of psychiatric research, 163, 63–67. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2023.04.014