ArticleBMC health services research2023
Contact with primary care physicians among adults with pre-existing common mental health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic: a registry-based study from Norway.
Article in BMC health services research, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.
- Mental Health in the Time of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Scoping Review of Collateral Effects on Common Mental Disorders (CMDs).International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- Patterns of psychiatric healthcare use during pandemic times among boys and girls with pre-existing diagnoses: a Norwegian nationwide primary and specialist healthcare registry study.BMC psychiatry · 2025Article
- COVID-19 Health Impact: A Use Case for Syndromic Surveillance System Monitoring Based on Primary Care Patient Registries in the Netherlands.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
12 authors at 3 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals with pre-existing mental health problems may have experienced additional stress, which could worsen symptoms or trigger relapse. Thus, this study aimed to investigate if the number of consultations with general practitioners (GPs) among individuals with a pre-existing common mental health problem during the pandemic differed from pre-pandemic years.
methodsData on consultations with GPs among 18-65-year-olds registered with common mental health problems in 2017-2021 were retrieved from the Norwegian Control and Payment of Health Reimbursements Database. Based on data from the pre-pandemic years (2017-2019), we predicted the number of consultations per week for depression, anxiety disorder, phobia/obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and eating disorders during the pandemic (March 2020-December 2021) among individuals with pre-existing mental health problems. The forecasted and observed trends in GP consultations per week during the pandemic were stratified by diagnosis, gender, and age groups.
resultsThe observed number of consultations for anxiety disorder, PTSD, and eating disorders were significantly higher than forecasted during extended periods of the two pandemic years. The differences were largest for PTSD (on average 37% higher in men and 47% higher in women during the pandemic), and for eating disorders among women (on average 87% higher during the pandemic). There were only minor differences between the predicted and observed number of consultations for depression and phobia/OCD.
conclusionsDuring the pandemic, individuals with a recent history of mental health problems were more likely to seek help for anxiety disorder, PTSD, and eating disorders, as compared to pre-pandemic years.
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Registered trials
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