Patterns of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Admissions Before and After the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Take Home Messages from a Clinical Population

Abstract

Background: This study from Istanbul aimed to compare the child and adolescent psychiatric admissions and diagnosis rates between the first 3 months of the pandemic, the previous 3 months in the same year, and the same months in the previous year. Methods: Children and adolescents were grouped according to the admission dates. Group A, between March 11 and June 1, 2020; Group B, between January 1 and March 11, 2020; and Group C, between March 11 and June 1, 2019. Only clinical interviews and diagnoses according to Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia-Present and Lifetime Version (K-SADS-PL) interview were included. Results: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)/tic disorder, and intellectual disability (ID) diagnoses were higher in group A than in groups B and C (for ASD, 6.4%, 4.3%, and 3.6%; for OCD/tic disorder, 2.9%, 1.8%, 1.7%; for ID, 3.7%, 2.5%, and 2.1%, respectively) (P < .001). Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis was higher in group A than in only group B (59.8% and 49.7%, respectively) (P < 0.001). Depression was higher in group A than in only group C (4.1% and 2.2%, respectively) (P < .001). Conduct disorder (CD) diagnosis was lower in group A than in only group B (3.6% and 6.4%, respectively) (P < .05). Conclusion: Child psychiatry diagnosis rates were found to change significantly during the initial phase of the pandemic period. Among the referrals, ASD, OCD, Tic disorder, ID, ADHD, and depression admissions were significantly higher. The rate of pediatric neurodevelopmental disorders, particularly ASD, increased during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.