Département Médico Universitaire (DMU) – Innovation en santé Mentale, Psychiatrie et AddiCTologie, Hôpitaux Universitaires « H. Mondor », Assistance Publique hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), Université Paris-Est-Créteil (UPEC), Mondor Biomedical Research Institute (IMRB - Inserm), Translational Neuropsychiatry, Fondation FondaMental, Créteil, France
Olivier Bouaziz
Université Paris Cité, CNRS, MAP5, Paris, France
Vittorio Perduca
Université Paris Cité, CNRS, MAP5, Paris, France
Viviane Kovess-Masfety
Non Communicable Diseases and Trauma Division, Santé publique France, Paris, France; and Laboratoire de Psychopathologie et Processus de Santé, Université Paris Cité, Paris, France
Emmanuelle Corruble
CESP, MOODS Team, INSERM UMR 1018, Faculté de Médecine, Université Paris-Saclay, Paris, France; and Service Hospitalo-Universitaire de Psychiatrie de Bicêtre, Hôpitaux Universitaires Paris-Saclay, AP–HP, Hôpital de Bicêtre, Paris, France
Francis Chin
Data Science Division, Santé publique France, Paris, France
Pierre A. Geoffroy
Département de Psychiatrie et d'Addictologie, AP-HP, Centre ChronoS, Groupe Hospitalier Universitaire (GHU) Paris Nord, DMU Neurosciences, Hospital Bichat - Claude Bernard, Paris, France; (GHU) Paris - Psychiatry & Neurosciences, Paris, France; and Université de Paris, NeuroDiderot, INSERM, FHU I2-D2, Paris, France
Yann Le Strat
Data Science Division, Santé publique France, Paris, France
Jonathan Messika
Service de Pneumologie B et Transplantation Pulmonaire, Hôpital Bichat-Claude Bernard, AP-HP, Nord-Université Paris Cité, Paris, France; and Physiopathology and Epidemiology of Respiratory Diseases, UMR1152 INSERM and Université de Paris, Paris, France
Nolwenn Regnault
Non Communicable Diseases and Trauma Division, Santé publique France, Paris, France
Non Communicable Diseases and Trauma Division, Santé publique France, Paris, France; Department of Psychiatry, AP-HP, Louis Mourier Hospital, Paris, France; and INSERM Team 1 – UMR1266, Institute of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, Université de Paris, Paris, France
Background Assessing the risk of subsequent self-harm after hospitalisation for COVID-19 is critical for mental health care planning during and after the pandemic. Aims This study aims to compare the risk of admission to hospital for self-harm within 12 months following a COVID-19 hospitalisation during the first half of 2020, with the risk following hospitalisations for other reasons. Method Using the French administrative healthcare database, logistic regression models were employed to analyse data from patients admitted to hospitals in metropolitan France between January and June 2020. The analysis included adjustments for sociodemographic factors, psychiatric history and the level of care received during the initial hospital stay. Results Of the 96 313 patients hospitalised for COVID-19, 336 (0.35%) were subsequently admitted for self-harm within 12 months, compared to 20 135 (0.72%) of 2 797 775 patients admitted for other reasons. This difference remained significant after adjusting for sociodemographic factors (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 0.66, 95% CI: 0.59–0.73), psychiatric disorder history (aOR = 0.65, 95% CI: 0.58–0.73) and the level of care received during the initial hospital stay (aOR = 0.70, 95% CI: 0.63–0.78). History of psychiatric disorders and intensive care were strongly correlated with increased risk, while older age was inversely associated with self-harm admissions. Conclusions Hospitalisation for COVID-19 during the early pandemic was linked to a lower risk of subsequent self-harm than hospitalisation for other reasons. Clinicians should consider psychiatric history and intensive care factors in evaluating the risk of future suicide.
