Jean-Benoit Legault, The Canadian Press

MONTREAL — The number of emergency room visits at Sainte-Justine hospital for mental health reasons jumped nearly 70% during the first 20 months of the pandemic, a new study reveals.

The phenomenon was much more marked in girls than in boys, the authors of the research specify.

Several Montreal researchers, including Doctors Olivier Drouin and Nicholas Chadi of the CHU Sainte-Justine, took part in this work, which focused on all visits to the pediatric hospital emergency room by children aged 5 to 17 between the months of April 2016 and November 2021.

They found that the average monthly number of emergency room visits for mental health reasons jumped 69% during the first twenty months of the health crisis; this increase dropped slightly, to 44%, when the data was adjusted for seasonal changes.

Girls were more likely than boys to present to the emergency department due to mental health concerns, but no differences related to socioeconomic status were found.

This greater presence of girls is likely attributable to a multitude of factors, said Dr. Chadi.

“Basically, girls were showing up more than boys for mental health reasons,” he said. Are the girls going to seek care more or are the girls the ones who have more psychological distress? Has the loss of social activities, sports activities, extracurricular activities affected girls more than boys? I think that comes into play as well.”

Another important component is the skyrocketing amount of screen time during the pandemic. Then come social media, comparison to others and eating disorders, said the specialist, “and it was felt very strongly by young girls”.

“We have never had so many young people hospitalized for eating disorders,” he revealed. In emergencies, it’s incredible, we have so many young people who come with ideas, suicidal attempts.

While use of mental health services and resources dipped somewhat during the early months of the pandemic, Dr. Chadi said, that use was “largely compensated for and then exceeded” thereafter.

Whether it’s anxiety disorders, mood disorders, eating disorders, substance abuse or neglect, “for all of these conditions, it has remained above the averages and normals expected for all the rest of the year 2021”, said doctor Chadi, to whom the Canadian Pediatric Society recently awarded the Victor-Marchessault prize for the defense of children.

“I see it a bit like the tip of the iceberg because it is certain that the emergency services in a tertiary hospital (like Sainte-Justine), it is the young people who probably have the greatest distress, a greater suffering, or who have lost access to their regular services or care,” he added.

The pandemic has complicated access to services such as therapists or psychologists, which made the emergency room the most accessible resource, explained Doctor Chadi.

“We still had an increase in the last ten years of mental health problems among young people and it has been exacerbated by the pandemic, he said in conclusion. We absolutely have to make sure that we are there to support our young people, whether in terms of community services, health care, schools… We must not hesitate to continue to find innovative solutions.”

The findings of this study are published by the medical journal Annals of General Psychiatry.