Urgences psychiatriques chez les 15–25 ans durant la première année de la crise sanitaire : une étude épidémiologique descriptive dans le plus grand centre d’urgences psychiatriques français

Abstract

IntroductionSince March 16, 2020, the date of the announcement of the first confinement in France in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and health crisis, French residents have experienced a brutal and lasting disruption in their rhythms and habits. The health crisis has had a strong impact on the general population and especially on patients suffering from psychiatric disorders. The demand for mental health care has particularly heightened among young people, who seem to be the most affected by this crisis. In the first part of this article, we will describe the impact of the health crisis on the mental health of young people and on the attendance of psychiatric emergencies, with a review of French and international literature. In the second part, we will present a descriptive epidemiological study carried out in the largest French psychiatric emergency center. Methods and objectiveOur sample included 9,771 young patients from 15 to 25 years old. The main objective of our study is to highlight the changes in the flow of consultations of patients aged 15 to 25 years during the first year of the health crisis, compared to the three previous years. We calculated and compared the proportion of the target population consulting between the period of the first year of the health crisis (COVID period) and the period encompassing the previous three years (pre-COVID period). We also compared different variables, between the 2,179 young people consulting during the first year of COVID-19 health crisis and the 7,592 young people during the three last years: age, sex, marital status, symptoms, environmental context and CIM-10 diagnoses. ResultsWe observed a significant increase in the proportion of patients aged 15 to 25 during the COVID period (n=29.4% vs. 27.6%; P<0,001). The patients during the COVID period were predominantly female. We have seen a significant increase in patients coming for consultations for anxiety (+4.3%; P<0.001), sleep disorders (+2.8%; P<0.001) and suicidal thoughts (+2.7%; P=0.006) during the COVID period. During the first year of the health crisis, the target population consulted less for claustration, withdrawal or odd behavior. Family conflicts, traumatic events and other life events were more frequent. Schizophrenia, schizotypal and delusional disorders were less frequently diagnosed. ConclusionThe health crisis has had a considerable impact on the mental health of the youth population. The mental health of young people is a current subject of concern and a major public health issue. Data from the literature warns of the impact of the health crisis on the mental health of this population and the need for early treatment, even as the supply of psychiatric care is decreasing.