Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39953166›Full record

ArticleSocial psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology2025

A population-based cohort to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on socioeconomic inequalities in mental health care in Italy (CoMeH): study protocol.

Alessio Petrelli, Massimiliano Aragona, Roberta Ciampichini, Anteo Di Napoli, Valeria Fano, Sara Leone, Martina Pacifici, Claudio Rosini, Caterina Silvestri, Alberto Zucchi and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–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

3 citing papers in PubMed.

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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

11 authors.

Alessio PetrelliNational Institute for Health, Migration and Poverty (INMP), Via di San Gallicano, 25a, Rome, 00153, Italy. alessio.petrelli@inmp.it.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7533-7260
Massimiliano AragonaNational Institute for Health, Migration and Poverty (INMP), Via di San Gallicano, 25a, Rome, 00153, Italy.
Roberta CiampichiniHealth Protection Agency (ATS), Bergamo, Italy.
Anteo Di NapoliNational Institute for Health, Migration and Poverty (INMP), Via di San Gallicano, 25a, Rome, 00153, Italy.
Valeria FanoLocal Health Authority Roma 2, Rome, Italy.
Sara LeoneNational Institute for Health, Migration and Poverty (INMP), Via di San Gallicano, 25a, Rome, 00153, Italy.
Martina PacificiTuscany Regional Health Agency (ARS), Florence, Italy.
Claudio RosiniLocal Health Authority Roma 2, Rome, Italy.
Caterina SilvestriTuscany Regional Health Agency (ARS), Florence, Italy.
Alberto ZucchiHealth Protection Agency (ATS), Bergamo, Italy.
Martina VenturaNational Institute for Health, Migration and Poverty (INMP), Via di San Gallicano, 25a, Rome, 00153, Italy.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeThe Covid and Mental Health (CoMeH) cohort was established to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the use of mental health care services in Italy in the short and long term, with a particular focus on socioeconomic and/or citizenship inequalities.

methodsThe CoMeH cohort includes all residents for at least two years in one of three vast catchment areas (N = 5,167,043), aged ≥ 10 years and assisted by a National Health Service (NHS) general practitioner (GP) of the area of residence. Primary outcomes of interest are the following indicators of mental health care services use: first access to any mental health care service (MHCS), total number of accesses to MHCS, the consumption of psychiatric drugs, the number of psychiatric or psychological outpatient visits, the number of residential or day care days spent in psychiatric facilities, the number of emergency department (ED) admissions, and inpatient admissions to hospitals.

resultsInitial findings show that incident MHCS users were 3.2% of the population of the Bergamo Local Health Authority (LHA), 3.5% of the Rome 2 LHA, and 4.4% of the Tuscany Region. The overall crude incidence rate of access to mental health care was 3.3% in the pre-COVID-19 period and 2.6% during the pandemic. Prescriptions for a mental disorder (57.2%) and ED admissions (25.1%) were the main reasons for enrollment. Compared to the general population, people with mental health conditions were older and more often female. The distribution of the incident users by deprivation index overlapped that of the population. Immigrants were younger, socioeconomically more deprived, and more often entered the study for an ED admission.

conclusionThis first CoMeH cohort study focused on the impact of the pandemic through the evaluation of hospitalizations, emergency department accesses, outpatient visits, residential and day care service use, and drug prescriptions. We also evaluated socioeconomic inequalities through the use of census-based deprivation index and migration status. Finally, we also analyzed the impact of COVID-19 infection and outcome on the study cohort.

Indexed as

COVID-19Healthcare DisparitiesHealth Services AccessibilityMental DisordersMental Health ServicesAdolescentAdultAgedChildCohort StudiesFemaleHospitalizationHumansItalyMaleMiddle AgedCOVID-19ImmigrantsLongitudinal studyMental healthSocioeconomic inequalities

Identifiers

PMID39953166
PMCPMC12031766

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

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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.