Increased first clinic visits in adolescent patients with mood, anxiety, or childhood affective disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background:To explore changes in the first clinic visits in adolescents diagnosed with mood disorders, anxiety disorders, or childhood mood disorders from January 2019 to May 2022 based on outpatient records from a large psychiatric hospital in China.Methods:The medical records of adolescents aged 12–17 years at their first clinic visits from January 2019 to May 2022 were collected at Ningbo Kangning Hospital. Adolescents primarily diagnosed with mood disorders, anxiety disorders, or childhood affective disorders were included in the present study.Results:The results showed that the number of adolescents at their first clinic visits diagnosed with mood disorders, anxiety disorders, and childhood affective disorders according to the International Classification of Diseases-10 (ICD-10) increased each year, with an increase from 2019 to 2020 being greater than that from 2020 to 2021. The mean age at first diagnosis showed a significant trend towards younger age (P < 0.001). The mean age when boys did their first clinic visits in 2021 was significantly younger than that in 2019 (P < 0.05) and the mean age of girls in 2021 was significantly younger than that in 2019 (P < 0.001) and in 2020 (P < 0.001). No difference was found in terms of sex (Chi-square = 7.538, P > 0.05).Conclusion:The number of first clinic visits by adolescent patients with mood, anxiety, or childhood affective disorders increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. The use of universal, selective, and indicated prevention and treatment strategies to buffer children and adolescents from negative mental health outcomes is imperative in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.