ED Visits for Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders Up After Pandemic Onset
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 27, 2023 -- The number of emergency department visits for schizophrenia spectrum disorders increased after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study published online Dec. 27 in JAMA Network Open.
Parvati Singh, Ph.D., from The Ohio State University in Columbus, and colleagues examined monthly patterns of emergency department visits for schizophrenia spectrum disorders after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in an observational cohort study using time-series analyses. Emergency department visits for schizophrenia spectrum disorders and all other psychiatric emergency department visits were identified from January 2016 to December 2021 at five University of California campuses.
Data were included for 377,872 psychiatric emergency department visits, of which 37,815 visits were for schizophrenia spectrum disorders. The researchers found that for schizophrenia spectrum disorders, the prepandemic monthly mean number of emergency department visits was 519.9, which increased to 558.4 after COVID-19 pandemic onset. Controlling for monthly counts of emergency department visits for all other psychiatric conditions, the results from time series analyses indicated 70.5 and 74.9 additional visits for schizophrenia spectrum disorders at one and three months, respectively, following the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The COVID-19 pandemic draws attention to the vulnerability of patients with schizophrenia to macrosocial shocks, underscoring the importance of social policies related to income support, housing, and health insurance for future emergency preparedness and the need to strengthen mental health care systems," the authors write.
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted December 2023
Further Support and Information on COVID-19
Read this next
Elevated BMI Linked to Postacute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 in Children
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 30, 2024 -- For children with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, elevated body mass index (BMI) is associated with an...
Risk for Sudden Cardiac Death Elevated for Patients With Psychiatric Disorders
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 23, 2024 -- Patients with psychiatric disorders have an increased rate of sudden cardiac death (SCD), according to a study published online Oct. 22 in...
IDSA: Vaccination Less Likely With Increasing Social Vulnerability, Black Race
FRIDAY, Oct. 18, 2024 -- Vaccination for influenza, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is less likely with an...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.