Citation

Spinazzola E, Meyer Z, Gray ZI, Azlan A, Wratten C, Rayat M, Hiscott L, Kyriakou L, Cottrell D, Pritchard M, Pinto da Costa M, Quattrone A, Stewart R, Di Forti M, Murray RMG, Quattrone D. Psychiatry Res. 2023; 329: e115483.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.psychres.2023.115483

PMID

37783096

Abstract

Evidence on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on psychotic disorders is so far scarce. We conducted an incidence study to ascertain rates of first-episode psychosis (FEP) before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in South London. We screened clinical records of individuals living in the London boroughs of Southwark and Lambeth who were referred to the early intervention services before (from 1/3/2019 to 28/2/2020) and during (from 1/3/2020 to 28/2/2021) the COVID-19 pandemic. We used the Office for National Statistics to determine the population at risk. We computed crude and sex-age standardised FEP incidence per 100,000 person-years. We used Poisson regression to calculate the incidence rate ratio (IRR) across the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 321 incident cases of FEP were identified during the COVID-19 pandemic, accounting for a crude rate of 69.8 (95% CI 62.1-77.4) per 100,000 person-years. The crude rate for the year before was 47.5 (95% CI 41.2-53.8). The incidence variation between the two years accounted for an adjusted IRR of 1.45 (95% CI 1.22-1.72). The pandemic was accompanied by a 45% spike in the rates of first-episode psychosis. This finding should inform public health research and demonstrate the need for adequate resources for secondary care.

Language: en

Keywords

Incidence; COVID-19; Psychotic disorders; Schizophrenia