COVID-19 Pandemic School Disruptions and Acute Mental Health in Children and Adolescents
Authors: Chiara Davico, Daniele Marcotulli, Giuseppe Abbracciavento, Thomas Anfosso, Massimo Apicella, Roberto Averna, Marzia Bazzoni, Dario Calderoni, Luca Cammisa, Alessandra Carta, Sara Carucci, Giorgio Cozzi, Federica Di Santo, Elisa Fazzi, Caterina Lux, Chiara Narducci, Lino Nobili, Ilaria Onida, Tiziana Pisano, Umberto Raucci, Idanna Sforzi, Laura Siri, Stefano Sotgiu, Simone Tavano, Arianna Terrinoni, Sara Uccella, Stefano Vicari, Caterina Zanus, Benedetto Vitiello, Chiara Davico, Daniele Marcotulli, Caterina M. Lux, Benedetto Vitiello, Valentina F. Cudia, Federico Amianto, Marta Borgogno, Federica S. Ricci, Giulia Defilippi, Elena Lonardelli, Claudia Bondone, Giuseppe Abbracciavento, Giorgio Cozzi, Caterina Zanus, Thomas Anfosso, Elisa Fazzi, Massimo Apicella, Roberto Averna, Umberto Raucci, Stefano Vicari, Marzia Bazzoni, Sara Carucci, Chiara Narducci, Alessandro Zuddas, Dario Calderoni, Luca Cammisa, Federica di Santo, Arianna Terrinoni, Mauro Ferrara, Alessandra Carta, Ilaria Onida, Stefano Sotgiu, Lino Nobili, Laura Siri, Sara Uccella, Tiziana Pisano, Idanna Sforzi, Simone Tavano
Journal: JAMA Network Open (2024)

Importance There are suggestions that school pressure may be stressful and a factor in child and adolescent mental health disturbances, but data about this association are scarce and inconclusive. Objective To assess whether varying degrees of school interruption were associated with changes in emergency department (ED) psychiatric visits of children and adolescents before and after the COVID-19 outbreak. Design, Setting, and Participants A cross-sectional observational study was conducted at 9 urban university hospitals in Italy. All ED visits from January 1, 2018, to December 31, 2021, for psychiatric reasons of patients younger than 18 years were examined for demographic characteristics and type of psychopathologic factors. Data analysis was conducted from July 1 to August 31, 2023. Exposure The disruption in the usual succession of school and holiday periods brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic at different times and with various degrees of intensity. Main Outcomes and Measures Total number of pediatric ED visits, psychiatric ED visits, and psychiatric ED visits categorized by specific reasons (eg, psychomotor agitation, suicide ideation [SI] or suicide attempt [SA], and eating disorders) on a weekly basis. Results A total of 13 014 psychiatric ED visits (1.3% of all pediatric ED visits) were recorded (63.2% females; mean [SD] age, 13.8 [3.8] years). The number of ED psychiatric visits increased over time (incidence rate ratio [IRR], 1.19; 95% CI, 1.16-1.22 for each year). Significant increases in ED visits were observed for eating disorders (294.8%), SI (297.8%), and SA (249.1%). School opening, but not social lockdown restriction, was associated with an increase in the number of ED psychiatric visits (IRR, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.23-1.34), which was evident for females and for SI with SA. Socioeconomic status was associated with an increase in psychiatric visits for males (IRR, 1.12; 95% CI, 1.04-1.20) but not females (IRR, 1.04; 95% CI, 0.98-1.10). Conclusions and Relevance In this study, school opening was associated with an increased incidence of acute psychiatric emergencies among children and adolescents, suggesting that school can be a substantial source of stress with acute mental health implications.