Mental-Health-Related ER Visits Among Young People Rose During Pandemic, With Unprecedented Rates Observed Especially Among Girls, Study Reveals

A new study sheds light on how the COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted the mental health of young people.

Mental Health Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic

During the course of the pandemic, an increase in severe ER psychiatric visits among teenagers and children was observed. These visits included conditions such as substance abuse disorders, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. Such observations were noted in the Academic Emergency Medicine journal.

On top of this, emergency room visits that were mental-health-related saw an unprecedented surge among girls towards the end of the pandemic. This was from 2021 to 2022.

Lead author Jennifer Hoffman, MD, MS, who is also an emergency medicine physician from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, shares that they were able to see an odd vulnerability among girls during this pandemic. This implies that the mental health of girls needs more focus.

The data looks into emergency room visits from nine hospitals in the US. It builds on existing data that sheds light on the persisting mental health crisis faced by the youth.

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Youth Mental Health Crisis

Towards the end of 2021, the US surgeon general said that the impact of the pandemic on youth mental health was devastating. Organizations that represent pediatricians, child psychiatrists, and children's hospitals also declared youth mental health as a national emergency.

A 2022 study from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shared that over 1 in 3 teenage high school students struggled with poor mental health over the course of the pandemic. There were also 1 in 5 who reportedly thought of suicide.

This study also discovered that almost 3 in 4 teenagers reportedly experience at least one adverse experience in childhood during the pandemic. These experiences included violence, loss of a parent, or bullying.

Earlier research has shown an association between adverse childhood experiences as well as increased risk of depression, chronic health conditions, anxiety, behavioral changes, and suicidal behaviors.

On top of this, the pandemic also forced several teens to be socially isolated, which could also adversely affect their mental health state.

Dr. Jennifer Ashton, a board-certified OB GYN and obesity medicine specialist and the ABC News chief medical correspondent, shares that this group is vulnerable. Their developmental premise is mainly social connectedness, which shows why the pandemic affected them so adversely.

The doctor also notes that it is important for healthcare providers and parents to keep in mind that mental illnesses could have various presentations among kids compared to adults.

For kids, symptoms of mental health struggles could include sleeping pattern changes, social isolation, drug or alcohol abuse, engaging in self-harm, hurting others, obsessive dieting or exercise, or feelings of hopelessness or sadness.

Dr. Ashton says that the mental health of a child should be prioritized like their physical health. Similar to how a child would see a doctor to get a physical condition checked, they can also avail of professional mental health help as well.

The CDC also says that schools are crucial resources for mental health help. The same is for medical doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists, and mental health counselors.