Epidemiology, IQVIA, Unterschweinstiege 2-14, 60549, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Retired Pediatrician, Currently Senior Physician at COVID-19 Vaccination Center, Berlin, Germany.
Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2023 May;32(5):873-879. doi: 10.1007/s00787-021-01924-1. Epub 2021 Nov 26.
The coronavirus pandemic and related restrictions impacted the daily lives of children and youth, partly due to the closure of schools and the absence of outdoor activities. The aim of this study was to investigate, quantify, and critically discuss the effect of the pandemic and related restrictions on consultations pertaining to depression and anxiety disorders in children and adolescents. This retrospective cross-sectional study was based on medical record data from the Disease Analyzer database (IQVIA) and included all children and adolescents aged 2-17 years with at least one visit to one of 168 German pediatric practices between April 2019 and December 2019 (n = 454,741) or between April 2020 and December 2020 (n = 417,979). The number of children and adolescents with depression and anxiety disorder diagnoses per practice and the prevalence of these diagnoses were compared for April 2020-December 2020 versus April 2019-December 2019. The number of children and adolescents with depression and anxiety diagnoses per practice increased in April 2020-December 2020 compared to the same period in 2019 (anxiety: + 9%, depression: + 12%). The increase was much greater in girls than in boys (anxiety: + 13% vs. + 5%; depression + 19% vs. + 1%). The prevalence of anxiety disorder increased from 0.31 to 0.59% (p < 0.001), and that of depression from 0.23 to 0.47% (p < 0.001). The biggest increases were observed for girls (anxiety from 0.35 to 0.72% (+ 106%, p < 0.001), depression from 0.28 to 0.72% (+ 132%, p < 0.001). This study shows an increase in the number of pediatric diagnoses of depression and anxiety disorders in the pandemic year 2020 compared to the previous year.
中文译文：
新冠疫情及相关限制措施影响了儿童和青少年的日常生活，这在一定程度上是由于学校关闭和户外活动减少所致。本研究旨在调查、量化并批判性地讨论疫情及相关限制措施对儿童和青少年抑郁和焦虑障碍咨询的影响。本回顾性横断面研究基于 IQVIA 的 Disease Analyzer 数据库中的病历数据，纳入了 2019 年 4 月至 2019 年 12 月（n=454741）或 2020 年 4 月至 2020 年 12 月（n=417979）期间至少到 168 家德国儿科诊所中的一家就诊的所有 2-17 岁儿童和青少年。比较了 2020 年 4 月至 12 月与 2019 年 4 月至 12 月期间每个儿科诊所的儿童和青少年抑郁和焦虑障碍诊断数量以及这些诊断的患病率。与 2019 年同期相比，2020 年 4 月至 12 月期间每个儿科诊所的儿童和青少年抑郁和焦虑诊断数量增加（焦虑症：+9%，抑郁症：+12%）。与男孩相比，女孩的增幅更大（焦虑症：+13% vs. +5%；抑郁症：+19% vs. +12%）。焦虑障碍的患病率从 0.31%升至 0.59%（p<0.001），抑郁症的患病率从 0.23%升至 0.47%（p<0.001）。增幅最大的是女孩（焦虑症从 0.35%升至 0.72%（+106%，p<0.001），抑郁症从 0.28%升至 0.72%（+132%，p<0.001）。本研究显示，与前一年相比，2020 年大流行年儿童和青少年抑郁和焦虑障碍的诊断数量有所增加。
