Dataset Information

COVID-19-related school closures and patterns of hospital admissions with stress-related presentations in secondary school-aged adolescents: weekly time series.

ABSTRACT: This study examines health service indicators of stress-related presentations (relating to pain, mental illness, psychosomatic symptoms and self-harm) in adolescents of secondary school age, using Hospital Episode Statistics data for England. We examined weekly time series data for three academic years spanning the time before (2018-2019) and during the COVID-19 pandemic (2019-2020 and 2020-2021), including the first lockdown when schools were closed to the majority of pupils. For all secondary school children, weekly stress presentations dropped following school closures. However, patterns of elevated stress during school terms re-established after reopening, with girls aged 11-15 showing an overall increase compared with pre-pandemic rates.

SUBMITTER: Blackburn RM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7613736 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

COVID-19-related school closures and patterns of hospital admissions with stress-related presentations in secondary school-aged adolescents: weekly time series.

Blackburn Ruth M RM Phillips Owen Jacquie J Downs Johnny J Gilbert Ruth R

The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science 20220825

This study examines health service indicators of stress-related presentations (relating to pain, mental illness, psychosomatic symptoms and self-harm) in adolescents of secondary school age, using Hospital Episode Statistics data for England. We examined weekly time series data for three academic years spanning the time before (2018-2019) and during the COVID-19 pandemic (2019-2020 and 2020-2021), including the first lockdown when schools were closed to the majority of pupils. For all secondary ...[more]

PMID: 36004552

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundConsidering the heterogenous evidence, a systematic review of the change in anxiety in European children and adolescents associated with the COVID-19 pandemic is lacking. We therefore assessed the change compared with pre-pandemic baselines stratified by gender and age as well as evaluated the impact of country-specific restriction policies.MethodsA registration on the 'International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews' (PROSPERO) occurred and an a priori protocol was published. We searched six databases (PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Web of Science, WHO COVID-19) using a peer-reviewed search string with citation tracking and grey literature screening. Primary outcomes were: (1) general anxiety symptoms; and (2) clinically relevant anxiety rates. We used the Oxford COVID-19 Stringency Index as an indicator of pandemic-related restrictions. Screening of title/abstract and full text as well as assessing risk of bias (using the 'Risk of Bias in Non-randomized Studies of Exposure' [ROBINS-E]) and certainty of evidence (using the 'Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation' [GRADE]) was done in duplicate. We pooled data using a random effects model. Reporting is in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statement.ResultsOf 7,422 non-duplicate records, 18 studies with data from 752,532 pre-pandemic and 763,582 pandemic participants met full inclusion criteria. For general anxiety symptoms the total change effect estimate yielded a standardised mean difference (SMD) of 0.34 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.17-0.51) and for clinically relevant anxiety rates we observed an odds ratio of 1.08 (95%-CI, 0.98-1.19). Increase in general anxiety symptoms was highest in the 11-15 years age group. Effect estimates were higher when pandemic-related restrictions were more stringent (Oxford Stringency Index > 60: SMD, 0.52 [95%-CI, 0.30-0.73]) and when school closures (School Closure Index ≥ 2: SMD, 0.44 [95%-CI, 0.23-0.65]) occurred.ConclusionGeneral anxiety symptoms among children and adolescents in Europe increased in a pre/during comparison of the COVID-19 pandemic; particularly for males aged 11-15 years. In periods of stringent pandemic-related restrictions and/or school closures a considerable increase in general anxiety symptoms could be documented. PROSPERO registration: CRD42022303714.

Project description:BackgroundA recent study conducted at our tertiary hospital emergency department (ED) reviewed ED consultations and found that adolescents aged 16-18 years present significantly more often for trauma and psychiatric problems than adults over 18 years. Accidental injuries are one of the greatest health risks for children and adolescents. In view of the increased vulnerability of the adolescent population, this study aimed to further analyse trauma-related presentations in adolescents.MethodsWe conducted a single-centre, retrospective, cross-sectional study of all adolescent trauma patients aged 16 to 18 years presenting to the adult ED at the University Hospital (Inselspital) in Bern, Switzerland, from January 2013 to July 2017. We analysed presentation data as well as inpatient treatment and cost-related data. Data of female and male patients were compared by univariable analysis. A comparison group was formed consisting of 200 randomly chosen patients aged 19-25 years old with the same presentation characteristics. Predictive factors for surgical treatment were obtained by multivariable analysis.ResultsThe study population included a total of 1,626 adolescent patients aged 16-18 years. The predominant causes for ED presentation were consistent within case and comparison groups for sex and age and were sports accidents, falls and violence. Male patients were more likely to need surgical treatment (OR 1.8 [95% CI: 1.2-2.5], p = 0.001) and consequently inpatient treatment (OR 1.5 [95% CI: 1.1-2.1], p = 0.01), associated with higher costs (median 792 Swiss francs [IQR: 491-1,598]). Other independent risk factors for surgical treatment were violence-related visits (OR 2.1 [95% CI: 1.3-3.5, p = 0.004]) and trauma to the upper extremities (OR 2.02 [95% CI: 1.5-2.8], p < 0.001). Night shift (OR 0.56 [95% CI: 0.37-0.86], 0.008) and walk-in consultations (OR 0.3 [95% CI: 0.2; 0.4, < 0.001] were preventive factors for surgical treatment.ConclusionsMale adolescents account for the majority of emergency visits and appear to be at higher risk for accidents as well as for surgical treatment and/or inpatient admission due to sports accidents or injuries from violence. We suggest that further preventive measures and recommendations should be implemented and that these should focus on sport activities and injuries from violence.

Project description:In response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) world pandemic, affected countries such as Spain enacted measures comprising compulsory confinement as well as restrictions regarding free movement. Such measures likely influence children's and adolescents' lifestyles. Our study aimed to investigate the impact that the Covid-19 confinement has on health-related behaviors (HRBs) among Spanish children and adolescents. An online survey was administered to 516 parents to collect data about 860 children and adolescents (49.2% girls) aged between 3 and 16 years in relation to physical activity, screen exposure, sleep time, and fruit and vegetable consumption during the Covid-19 confinement. Respectively, t-paired test and t-test between groups served to check differences between HRBs levels before and during the confinement as well as between strict and relaxed confinement. Significant differences were found for a reduction of weekly minutes of physical activity during the confinement (?102.5, SD 159.6) (p < 0.001), an increase of daily hours of screen exposure (2.9, SD 2.1) (p < 0.001), and a reduction of daily fruit and vegetable consumption (?0.2, SD 1.6) (p < 0.001). Sleep time showed a significant difference between strict and relaxed confinement (?0.3, SD 0.1) (p < 0.05), whereas binomial logistic regression adjusted for covariates (age, sex, education of the parents, siblings, current condition, exposure to Covid-19, and previous health risk behavior) showed significantly lower odds for screen exposure risk behavior with relaxed confinement (OR 0.60, 95%CI 0.40–0.91). The present study suggests that Covid-19 confinement reduced physical activity levels, increased both screen exposure and sleep time, and reduced fruit and vegetable consumption. Therefore, most HRBs worsened among this sample of Spanish children and adolescents. Closure of schools, online education, and the lack of policies addressing the conciliation between labor and family life could have played an important role in HRBs worsening among pupils, which might be mitigated with adequate conciliation policies, parental guidance, and community support.

Dataset Information

COVID-19-related school closures and patterns of hospital admissions with stress-related presentations in secondary school-aged adolescents: weekly time series.

Publications

COVID-19-related school closures and patterns of hospital admissions with stress-related presentations in secondary school-aged adolescents: weekly time series.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets