Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38495523›Full record

ArticleEClinicalMedicine2024

Effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health visits in primary care: an interrupted time series analysis from nine INTRePID countries.

Javier Silva-Valencia, Carla Lapadula, John M Westfall, Gabriela Gaona, Simon de Lusignan, Robert Sarkadi Kristiansson, Zheng Jye Ling, Lay Hoon Goh, Percy Soto-Becerra, Maria Sofia Cuba-Fuentes and 13 more

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PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in EClinicalMedicine, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
17citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

17 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Utilization of mental health services during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic - a systematic review and meta-analysis.European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists · 2026
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  13. Trends and associated factors of mental health diagnoses in Catalan Primary Care (2010-2019).European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists · 2024
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

23 authors.

Javier Silva-ValenciaCenter for Research in Primary Health Care (CINAPS), Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Peru.
Carla LapadulaDepartment of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
John M WestfallDARTNet Institute, Aurora, CO, USA.
Gabriela GaonaDARTNet Institute, Aurora, CO, USA.
Simon de LusignanNuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Robert Sarkadi KristianssonDepartment of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
Zheng Jye LingDivision of Family Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
Lay Hoon GohDivision of Family Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
Percy Soto-BecerraSchool of Medicine, Universidad Continental, Huancayo, Peru.
Maria Sofia Cuba-FuentesCenter for Research in Primary Health Care (CINAPS), Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Peru.
Knut-Arne WensaasResearch Unit for General Practice, NORCE Norwegian Research Centre AS, Bergen, Norway.
Signe FlottorpCentre for Epidemic Interventions Research, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
Valborg BasteNational Centre for Emergency Primary Health Care, NORCE Norwegian Research Centre, Bergen, Norway.
William Chi-Wai WongDepartment of Family Medicine and Primary Care, The University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, China.
Amy Pui Pui NgDepartment of Family Medicine and Primary Care, The University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, China.
Angela OrtigozaDepartment of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Jo-Anne Manski-NankervisDepartment of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Christine Mary HallinanDepartment of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Paula ZingoniMinistry of Health of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Luciano ScattiniMinistry of Health of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Adrian HealdSchool of Medical Sciences, Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Gastroenterology, University of Manchester, UK.
Karen TuDepartment of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
INTRePID

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic impacted mental health disorders, affecting both individuals with pre-existing conditions and those with no prior history. However, there is limited evidence regarding the pandemic's impact on mental health visits to primary care physicians. The Methods: We conducted an interrupted time series analysis in nine countries to examine changes in rates of monthly mental health visits to primary care settings from January 1st, 2018, to December 31st, 2021. Sub-group analysis considered service type (in-person/virtual) and six categories of mental health conditions (anxiety/depression, bipolar/schizophrenia/other psychotic disorders, sleep disorders, dementia, ADHD/eating disorders, and substance use disorder). Findings: Mental health visit rates increased after the onset of the pandemic in most countries. In Argentina, Canada, China, Norway, Peru, and Singapore, this increase was immediate ranged from an incidence rate ratio of 1·118 [95% CI 1.053-1.187] to 2.240 [95% CI 2.057-2.439] when comparing the first month of pandemic with the pre-pandemic trend. Increases in the following months varied across countries. Anxiety/depression was the leading reason for mental health visits in most countries. Virtual visits were reported in Australia, Canada, Norway, Peru, Sweden, and the USA, accounting for up to 40% of the total mental health visits. Interpretation: Findings suggest an overall increase in mental health visits, driven largely by anxiety/depression. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many of the studied countries adopted virtual care in particular for mental health visits. Primary care plays a crucial role in addressing mental ill-health in times of crisis. Funding: Canadian Institutes of Health Research grant #173094 and the Rathlyn Foundation Primary Care EMR Research and Discovery Fund.

Indexed as

Big dataGlobal healthMental healthPrimary care

Identifiers

PMID38495523
PMCPMC10940140

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.