Pediatric Emergency Department Visits Associated with Mental Health Conditions Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic — U.S. January 2019–January 2022

Details

• Personal Author:
  Radhakrishnan, Lakshmi ; Leeb, Rebecca T. ; Bitsko, Rebecca H. ; Carey, Kelly ; Gates, Abigail ; Holland, Kristin M. ; Hartnett, Kathleen P. ; Kite-Powell, Aaron ; DeVies, Jourdan ; Smith, Amanda R. ; van Santen, Katharina L. ; Crossen, Sophia ; Sheppard, Michael ; Wotiz, Samantha ; Lane, Rashon I. ; Njai, Rashid ; Johnson, Amelia G. ; Winn, Amber ; Kirking, Hannah L. ; Rodgers, Loren ; Thomas, Craig W. ; Soetebier, Karl ; Adjemian, Jennifer ; Anderson, Kayla N..
• Corporate Authors:
  Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services (U.S.) ; Div. of Health Informatics and Surveillance ; National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities ; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.) ; Div. of Human Development and Disability ; National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (U.S.) ; Div. of Overdose Prevention ; ICF International ; Epidemic Intelligence Service ; Inductive Health Informatics ; Deloitte ; National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (U.S.) ; Div. of STD ; Office of Minority Health and Health Equity ; National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (U.S.) ; Div. of Viral Diseases ; National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (U.S.) ; Div. of Population Health ; Div. of Violence Prevention
• Description:
  What is already known about this topic? The proportion of pediatric emergency department (ED) visits for mental health conditions (MHCs) increased during 2020.
  
  What is added by this report? Weekly ED visits among adolescent females (aged 12–17 years) increased for two MHCs (eating and tic disorders) during 2020, four (depression, eating, tic, and obsessive-compulsive disorders) during 2021, and five (anxiety; trauma and stressor-related; eating; tic; and obsessive-compulsive disorders) and overall MHC visits during January 2022, compared with 2019. The proportion of ED visits with eating disorders doubled among adolescent females; those for tic disorders approximately tripled during the pandemic.
  
  What are the implications for public health practice? Early identification and expanded evidence-based Prevention and intervention strategies are critical to improving pediatric mental health, especially among adolescent females, who might have increased need.
  
  In 2021, a national emergency* for children’s mental health was declared by several pediatric health organizations, and the U.S. Surgeon General released an advisory† on mental health among youths. These actions resulted from ongoing concerns about children’s mental health in the U.S. which was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic (1,2). During March–October 2020, among all emergency department (ED) visits, the proportion of mental health-related visits increased by 24% among U.S. children aged 5–11 years and 31% among adolescents aged 12–17 years, compared with 2019 (2). CDC examined changes in U.S. pediatric ED visits for overall mental health conditions (MHCs) and ED visits associated with specific MHCs (depression; anxiety; disruptive behavioral and impulse-control disorders; attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; trauma and stressor-related disorders; bipolar disorders; eating disorders; tic disorders; and obsessive-compulsive disorders [OCD]) during 2019 through January 2022 among children and adolescents aged 0–17 years, overall and by sex and age. After declines in weekly visits associated with MHCs among those aged 0–17 years during 2020, weekly numbers of ED visits for MHCs overall and for specific MHCs varied by age and sex during 2021 and January 2022, when compared with corresponding weeks in 2019. Among adolescent females aged 12–17 years, weekly visits increased for two of nine MHCs during 2020 (eating disorders and tic disorders), for four of nine MHCs during 2021 (depression, eating disorders, tic disorders, and OCD), and for five of nine MHCs during January 2022 (anxiety, trauma and stressor-related disorders, eating disorders, tic disorders, and OCD), and overall MHC visits during January 2022, compared with 2019. Early identification and expanded evidence-based Prevention and intervention strategies are critical to improving children’s and adolescents’ mental health (1–3), especially among adolescent females, who might have increased need.
  
  Suggested citation for this article: Radhakrishnan L, Leeb RT, Bitsko RH, et al. Pediatric Emergency Department Visits Associated with Mental Health Conditions Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic — U.S. January 2019–January 2022. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. ePub: 18 February 2022.
  
  mm7108e2.htm?s_cid=mm7108e2_w
  
  mm7108e2-H.pdf
  
  
• Subjects:
  Adolescent Child Child, Preschool CoronaVirus Infections CoronaVirus Infections/Psychology COVID-19 Emergency Service, Hospital Facilities And Services Utilization Female Humans Male Mental Disorders/Epidemiology Mental Disorders/therapy Pandemics

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• Source:
  MMWR: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2022; v. 71 Early Release
• Series:
  Weekly Report: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• ISSN:
  0149-2195 (print) ; 1545-861X (digital)
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Name as Subject:
  National Syndromic Surveillance Program (U.S.) Community of Practice (NSSP CoP);
• Place as Subject:
  Alabama ; Arkansas ; California ; Colorado ; Georgia ; Illinois ; Indiana ; Louisiana ; Massachusetts ; Michigan ; Mississippi ; Missouri ; Nebraska ; New Jersey ; North Carolina ; Ohio ; Pennsylvania ; South Carolina ; Tennessee ; Texas
• Pages in Document:
  6 pdf pages
• Volume:
  71
• Collection(s):
  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:2d0c0603fdca44592f2758599114094bcbca2b8f62a963d1ad9bfb1c5aaebd84c31566372827183aa7cfe1e2507df11f5a44c771c33c68b1b6f8f9da0844e83f
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/114657/cdc_114657_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 393.53 KB ]