Publication date: Dec 05, 2024
Few studies have evaluated the incidence of various psychiatric disorders during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic using hospital visit data for the entire population of a nation. We used Korea’s universal compulsory health insurance data to conduct a descriptive analysis to evaluate changes in psychiatric disorder incidence during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hospital visit data related to psychiatric disorders were retrieved from the National Health Insurance Database. First-ever diagnosis for specific psychiatric disorders for each Korean was identified (from January 2015 to February 2023) and monthly age-standardized incidence rates were calculated. An interrupted time-series analysis was used to estimate counterfactual disease incidence rates and observed and counterfactual rates were compared using difference-in-difference framework. Compared to pre-pandemic period, there was a decrease in the incidence [percentage changes in monthly rate (95% confidence intervals)] of organic mental disorders [-14. 6% (-18. 4, -10. 9)] and psychoactive substance related disorders [-12. 9% (-17. 5, -8. 3)] during the pandemic. However, anxiety disorders [8. 8% (3. 1, 14. 6)], behavioral syndromes associated with physiological disturbances [8. 1% (4. 2, 11. 9)], mental retardation [8. 6% (3. 0, 14. 2)], psychological developmental disorders [19. 6% (11. 5, 27. 7)], childhood- and adolescent-onset behavioral and emotional disorders [45. 1% (28. 4, 61. 8)], and unspecified mental diseases [51. 8% (39. 8, 63. 8)] increased. Psychological disease incidence patterns changed substantially during the pandemic in South Korea. Various pandemic-related stressors, such as disrupted lifestyles and hospital accessibility, may have influenced these changes. The causes and public health consequences of these changes require further evaluation.
