Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40033262›Full record

ArticleBMC public health2025

Specialized mental healthcare use for common mental disorders and prescription of antidepressants before and during the COVID-19 pandemic among working-age refugees and Swedish-born individuals - a nationwide register-based study.

Vera Atarodi, Ellenor Mittendorfer-Rutz, Daniel Morillo-Cuadrado, Roberto Mediavilla, Mireia Felez-Nobrega, Anna Monistrol-Mula, Pierre Smith, Vincent Lorant, Papoula Petri-Romão, Marit Sijbrandij and 9 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC public health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

19 authors.

Vera AtarodiDepartment of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. vera.atarodi@ki.se.
Ellenor Mittendorfer-RutzDepartment of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Daniel Morillo-CuadradoSchool of Psychology, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Madrid, Spain.
Roberto MediavillaInstituto de Investigación Sanitaria del Hospital Universitario La Princesa (IIS-Princesa), Madrid, Spain.
Mireia Felez-NobregaCentro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
Anna Monistrol-MulaCentro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
Pierre SmithDepartment of Epidemiology and Public Health, Sciensano Belgian Institute of Health, Brussels, Belgium.
Vincent LorantInstitute of Health and Society, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium.
Papoula Petri-RomãoLeibniz Institute for Resilience Research, Wallstr 7 55122, Mainz, Germany.
Marit SijbrandijDepartment of Clinical, Neuro- and Developmental Psychology, Amsterdam Public Health Institute and World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Research and Dissemination of Psychological Interventions, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Anke B WitteveenDepartment of Clinical, Neuro- and Developmental Psychology, Amsterdam Public Health Institute and World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Research and Dissemination of Psychological Interventions, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Irene PinucciDepartment of Human Neurosciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
Matteo Monzio CompagnoniDepartment of Statistics and Quantitative Methods, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy.
Claudia ConflittiDepartment of Statistics and Quantitative Methods, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy.
Giulia CaggiuDepartment of Statistics and Quantitative Methods, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy.
Maria MelchiorEquipe de Recherche en Epidémiologie Sociale (ERES), Institut Pierre Louis d'Epidémiologie Et de Santé Publique (IPLESP), INSERM, Sorbonne Université, Faculté de Médecine St Antoine, Paris, France.
Cécile VuillermozEquipe de Recherche en Epidémiologie Sociale (ERES), Institut Pierre Louis d'Epidémiologie Et de Santé Publique (IPLESP), INSERM, Sorbonne Université, Faculté de Médecine St Antoine, Paris, France.
Jakob BergströmDepartment of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Katalin GémesDepartment of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.

Funding

European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme 101016127
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIt is known that refugees have an elevated risk of common mental disorders (CMDs, including depression, anxiety, and stress-related disorders). The effect of the coronavirus disease pandemic on healthcare use due to CMDs in refugees is yet unknown, especially in socioeconomically deprived groups. We conducted a population-wide study comparing specialized healthcare use for CMDs and antidepressant prescriptions before and during the pandemic in refugees and Swedish-born, and investigated differences by labor market marginalization and education.

methodsAn interrupted time series analysis of quarterly cohorts (2018.01.01-2021.12.31) of all refugees and Swedish-born, aged 19 to 65 was applied. Information on outcome measures and covariates were linked individually from administrative registers. We applied interrupted time series and estimated incidence rate ratios (IRR) of the incidence rates (IR) and their corresponding confidence intervals (CI) before and during the pandemic.

resultsA total of 4,932,916 individuals, of whom 488,299 (9.9%) were refugees, were included at baseline. We observed a 3% (95% CI: 1%, 5%) quarterly increase in trends of healthcare use due to CMDs in refugees, but no changes in Swedish-born individuals. The IRRs were larger in refugees whose labor market position was marginalized (IRR: 6%, (3%, 9%)), and refugees with low education level (IRR: 4% (1%, 7%)). There were no substantial changes in antidepressant prescription.

conclusionRefugees, especially those already in a marginalized position, had increased CMD-related mental healthcare use during the pandemic. Strategies to meet the mental health care needs of marginalized refugees are of outmost public health importance.

Indexed as

Antidepressive AgentsCOVID-19Mental DisordersMental Health ServicesRefugeesAdultAgedFemaleHumansInterrupted Time Series AnalysisMaleMiddle AgedPandemicsRegistriesSwedenYoung AdultAntidepressive AgentsCommon mental disordersCOVID-19Interrupted time-seriesMental healthPopulation-based cohortRefugees

Identifiers

PMID40033262
PMCPMC11874784

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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.