Eating Disorder and Other Psychiatric Hospitalizations in New Zealand During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Int J Eat Disord
; 2024 Jun 30.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38946135
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
An unprecedented rise in eating disorder presentations has been documented in several countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. We explored this phenomenon by analyzing nationwide psychiatric admissions over 5 years, controlling for demographic variables.METHODS:
We retrospectively analyzed all hospitalizations in New Zealand with a primary psychiatric diagnosis from 2017 to 2021, using Poisson regression to calculate admission rates by diagnosis, before and during the pandemic. Using Fisher's exact test and Poisson modeling, national data were validated against a manually collected sample of eating disorder admissions.RESULTS:
Eating disorder admissions rose significantly during the pandemic (RR 1.48, p < 0.0001), while other diagnoses remained unchanged or decreased slightly. Anorexia nervosa in 10 to 19-year-old females drove increases, with persistent elevations noted in the 10-14 age group. Pandemic-associated increases were more striking for Maori (RR 2.55), the indigenous Polynesian population, compared with non-Maori (RR 1.43).CONCLUSIONS:
Eating disorder hospital presentations increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, while other psychiatric presentations to hospital remained relatively unchanged. Possible drivers include disrupted routines, barriers to healthcare access, altered social networks, and increased social media use. Clinical services require additional resources to manage the increased disease burden, especially in vulnerable pediatric and indigenous populations. Ongoing monitoring will be required to establish the time-course of pandemic-related clinical demand.
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Int J Eat Disord
Año:
2024
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Nueva Zelanda
Pais de publicación:
Estados Unidos