Prolonged impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on self-harm hospitalizations in France: A nationwide retrospective observational study

Fabrice Jollant (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) , Adrien Roussot (7, 8) , Emmanuelle Corruble (1, 9) , Jean Christophe Chauvet-Gelinier (7, 10) , Bruno Falissard (1, 11) , Yann Mikaeloff (1, 11) , Catherine Quantin (1, 7, 12)

1 CESP - Centre de recherche en épidémiologie et santé des populations
2 CHU Nîmes - Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nîmes
3 Hôpital Sainte-Anne [Paris]
4 GHU Paris Psychiatrie et Neurosciences
5 McGill University = Université McGill [Montréal, Canada]
6 IPNP - U1266 Inserm - Institut de psychiatrie et neurosciences de Paris
7 CHU Dijon
8 UB - Université de Bourgogne
9 Hôpital Bicêtre [AP-HP, Le Kremlin-Bicêtre]
10 LPPM - Laboratoire de psychopathologie et psychologie médicale
11 UVSQ Santé - Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines - UFR Sciences de la santé Simone Veil
12 CIC-EC - Centre d'Investigation Clinique 1432 (Dijon) - Epidemiologie Clinique/Essais Cliniques

Background. The first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in France was associated with a reduced number of hospitalizations for self-harm, with the exception of older people. The on-going pandemic may have both sustained and delayed effects. Methods. Data were extracted from the French national hospital database (PMSI), a nationwide exhaustive database. The number of self-harm hospitalizations (ICD-10 codes X60–84) between September 1, 2020 and August 31, 2021 (N = 85,679) was compared to 2019 (N = 88,782) using Poisson regression models. Results. There was a decrease in the total number of self-harm hospitalizations during the studied period versus 2019 (-3.5%; Relative Risk [RR] [95% Confidence Intervals] = 0.97 [0.96–0.97]; p < 0.0001). However, sex and age effects were identified. While adults aged 30–59-years-old showed a decrease (monthly decreases: -12.6 to 15.0%), we found an increase in adolescent girls (þ27.7%, RR = 1.28 [1.25–1.31]; p < 0.0001), notably since January 2021. Moreover, the numbers were similar to 2019 in adolescent boys, in youths aged 20–29 years, and in people aged 70 and more. Hospitalizations in intensive care units decreased (-6.7%, RR = 0.93 [0.91–0.96]; p < 0.0001) and deaths at hospital following self-harm remained stable (þ0.6%, Hazard Ratio = 0.99 [0.91–1.08], p = 0.79). Conclusions. During this second stage, the number of self-harm hospitalizations remained at a lower level than in the prepandemic period. However, significant variations over time, age, and sex were observed. Young people (notably adolescent girls) appear to have particularly suffered from the persistence of the pandemic, while older people did not show any decrease since the beginning. Vigilance and continuing prevention are warranted.

Mots clés: Adolescents; elderly; pandemic; self-harm

Domaines: Psychiatrie et santé mentale

Fabrice Jollant, Adrien Roussot, Emmanuelle Corruble, Jean Christophe Chauvet-Gelinier, Bruno Falissard, et al.. Prolonged impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on self-harm hospitalizations in France: A nationwide retrospective observational study. European Psychiatry, 2022, 65 (1), ⟨10.1192/j.eurpsy.2022.26⟩. ⟨hal-03775086⟩