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The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on inpatient admissions for bipolar disorder

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 July 2023

C. Portela ,
C. Oliveira ,
D. Areias  and
M. Gonçalves
C. Portela*
Affiliation:
Hospital de Magalhães Lemos, Porto, Portugal
C. Oliveira
Affiliation:
Hospital de Magalhães Lemos, Porto, Portugal
D. Areias
Affiliation:
Hospital de Magalhães Lemos, Porto, Portugal
M. Gonçalves
Affiliation:
Hospital de Magalhães Lemos, Porto, Portugal
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

In 2019, there were 39.5 million patients suffering from bipolar disorder worldwide, resulting in around 8.5 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and in a significant economic burden. Bipolar disorder is known to be susceptible to factors that disrupt biological and social rhythms. The COVID-19 pandemic and the measures taken to control it, such as social distancing, home confinement and lockdowns, pose a risk to the stability of bipolar patients. Other factors, for example, reduced access to treatment and stress associated with the disease could also contribute to relapses. Studies have shown that, in 2020, more people with bipolar disorder were hospitalised compared to previous years, including patients without previous history of hospitalizations.

Objectives

This study aims to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on inpatient admissions for bipolar disorder.

Methods

Socio-demographic and clinical data were collected from electronic medical records. A retrospective observational study of patients who were admitted to a psychiatric ward between March 2019 and February 2021 was conducted. The characteristics of patients admitted before the pandemic (March 2019 to February 2020) and after (March 2020 to February 2021) were compared statistically.

Results

A total of 850 patient admissions were obtained, 15% of which had a main diagnosis of bipolar disorder. The authors will analyze all the variables in the population admitted. The authors expect to find differences between patients hospitalized before and after the beginning of the pandemic, both in clinical presentation (manic, depressive or mixed episode), psychiatric history, comorbidities, suicide attempts and socio-demographic factors.

Conclusions

The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on mental health on a global level, plenty of which is still unknown. The findings of this study will likely show the effects of this crisis on bipolar disorder patients.

Disclosure of Interest

None Declared

Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 66 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 31st European Congress of Psychiatry , March 2023 , pp. S781
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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