ABSTRACT
Eating disorders (EDs) are characterized by behavioral and cognitive aspects that result in a significant impairment of an individual's well-being. COVID-19 pandemic consequences negatively impacted healthcare services and people's mental health. Particularly, in developmental ages, difficulties in coping with the situation could have had an impact on eating behaviors. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess EDs' hospitalization trend before, during and after the pandemic peak to evaluate whether it has been influenced. A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted on the hospital discharge forms of patients from 5 to 19 years old in Piedmont, which is a region in northern Italy. Overall, hospitalization, age, and gender-specific rates due to EDs that occurred in 2020 and 2021 were compared to those that occurred in 2018-2019. Since 2020, there has been a 55% reduction in overall hospitalizations, while the total proportion of EDs admissions has doubled from 2020 to 2021 (from 13.9‱ to 22.2‱). Significant hospitalization rate increases were observed both in 15-19 and in 10-14 females' age groups in 2021. Non-significant increases were observed in all males' age groups. The increase in hospitalizations for EDs should be further investigated, as it might be the tip of an iceberg not yet acknowledged.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Feeding and Eating Disorders , Child , Male , Female , Humans , Adolescent , Child, Preschool , Young Adult , Adult , COVID-19/epidemiology , Pandemics , Cross-Sectional Studies , Retrospective Studies , Hospitalization , Feeding and Eating Disorders/epidemiology , Italy/epidemiologyABSTRACT
Due to novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), on March 8, 2020, the first lockdown began in Italy. Two months of lockdown involved all country regions until 4 May 2020, when "phase 2" began. During this period, only urgent and emergency conditions could accede to hospital for inpatient treatments, also for developmental psychiatric conditions. Here we report the experience of UOSD od Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry od University Federico II of Naples, about hospitalizations carried out during the first lockdown due to Covid-19. The main situations that required urgent treatment, the main reasons that led caregivers to contact the hospital and issues concerning admission during the lockdown are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) (Italian) A causa della nuova malattia da coronavirus (COVID-19), l'8 marzo 2020 e iniziato in Italia il primo lockdown, che si e prolungato fino al 4 maggio 2020, quando e iniziata la "fase 2". Durante questo periodo, solo le condizioni urgenti e di emergenza hanno potuto accedere all'ospedale per i trattamenti sanitari, e questo anche per quanto riguarda le condizioni psichiatriche dell'eta evolutiva. Il lavoro riporta l'e- sperienza della UOSD Neuropsichiatria Infantile dell'Universita Federico II di Napoli sui ricoveri effettuati durante il primo lockdown dovuto a COVID-19. Vengono discusse le situazioni piu significative, ovvero quelle che hanno richiesto delle cure urgenti, i principali motivi che hanno portato i caregiver a contattare l'ospedale e le questioni relative al ricovero durante il lockdown. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)