COVID-19 Pandemic Has Changed the Psychiatric Profile of Adolescents Attempting Suicide: A Cross-Sectional Comparison.

The COVID-19 pandemic is having a major impact on the mental health of adolescents, leading to suicidal behaviors. However, it remains to be clarified whether the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the psychiatric profile of adolescent suicide attempters. METHODS: a retrospective observational analytical...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Gracia-Liso R, Portella MJ, Puntí-Vidal J, Pujals-Altés E, Torralbas-Ortega J, Llorens M, Pamias M, Fradera-Jiménez M, Montalvo-Aguirrezabala I, Palao DJ
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2023
País:España
Institución:Fundació Sant Joan de Déu
Repositorio:r-FSJD. Repositorio Institucional de Producción Científica de la Fundació Sant Joan de Déu
OAI Identifier:oai:dnet:r-fsjd______::f9507d9f0162c5316d861d2303cf8e9e
Acceso en línea:https://fsjd.fundanetsuite.com/Publicaciones/ProdCientif/PublicacionFrw.aspx?id=30457
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:COVID-19
adolescent suicide
mental health
suicide attempt
Descripción
Sumario:The COVID-19 pandemic is having a major impact on the mental health of adolescents, leading to suicidal behaviors. However, it remains to be clarified whether the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the psychiatric profile of adolescent suicide attempters. METHODS: a retrospective observational analytical study was conducted to assess age, gender and clinical characteristics of adolescents attempting suicide during the year before and the year after the global lockdown. RESULTS: ninety adolescents (12-17 y.o.) were recruited consecutively from February 2019 to March 2021 at the emergency ward for having attempted suicide. Fifty-two (57.8%) attended before the lockdown (pre-pandemic group) and thirty-eight (42.2%) the year after (pandemic group). There were significant differences in diagnostic categories between the periods (p = 0.003). Adjustment and conduct disorders were more frequent in the pre-pandemic group, while anxiety and depressive disorders were more prevalent during the pandemic. Although the severity of suicide attempts did not show significant differences between the two study periods (0.7), the generalized linear model showed that the suicide attempt severity was significantly associated with current diagnosis (p = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: the psychiatric profile of adolescents attempting suicide was different before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, the proportion of adolescents with a prior psychiatric history was lower, and most of them were diagnosed with depressive and anxiety disorders. These diagnoses were also associated with a greater severity in the intentionality of suicide attempt, regardless of the study period.