Difference in Psychiatric Hospital Admissions Between Cisgender and Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Youth, Before and During the Start of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Academic Article uri icon

Overview

abstract

  • This retrospective study of 1101 children and adolescents examines differences in psychiatric admissions between cisgender and transgender/gender nonconforming (TGNC) youth between June 2018 and November 2021. Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics for each admission were extracted from medical records. We compared proportion of total admissions and clinical characteristics between cisgender and TGNC youth, during specified time frames of pre-COVID-19, during quarantine, and post-quarantine. During quarantine, 294 (89.9%) youth identified as cisgender and 33 (10.1%) youth identified as TGNC. Post-quarantine, 205 (88.4%) youth identified as cisgender and 27 (11.6%) identified as TGNC. TGNC patients had more history of mood disorders (p < 0.001), self-injurious behavior (p < 0.001), and suicide attempt (p = 0.007), whereas cisgender patients had more history of Attention-deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) (p = 0.011) and violence (p < 0.001) across each time frame of the study. TGNC patients were more likely to be admitted due to suicidal ideation (p = 0.003), whereas cisgender patients were more often admitted for aggression (p < 0.001). There was no change across COVID-19 time periods in terms of any psychiatric history variable among patients identifying as TGNC. The proportion of admitted youth identifying as TGNC increased by 8.1% from pre-COVID-19 to post-quarantine (p < 0.001). These findings suggest that TGNC youth might be particularly vulnerable to mental health crises when faced with pandemic-related stressors. Further research on the vulnerabilities of TGNC youth during sudden and extreme social changes and how this can impact their mental health is necessary, as global pandemics could and are anticipated to repeat.

publication date

  • July 19, 2023

Research

keywords

  • COVID-19
  • Hospitalization
  • Hospitals, Psychiatric
  • Mental Disorders
  • Sexual and Gender Minorities
  • Transgender Persons

Identity

PubMed Central ID

  • PMC11726860

Scopus Document Identifier

  • 105001087295

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1007/s10578-023-01571-4

PubMed ID

  • 37464154

Additional Document Info

volume

  • 56

issue

  • 2