Key Points

Week 10 (March 8–14, 2021).

• An increase in emergency room visits for suicide attempts and mood disorders among children under 15, for the second consecutive week. These indicators are higher than in previous years.

• An increase in SOS Médecins medical interventions for anxiety among children under 15 for the third consecutive week.

• No notable changes in indicators among adults.

Summary

Emergency department visit data from the OSCOUR® network

• Among adults aged 15 and older, visits for suicidal behavior and anxiety disorders remain at levels comparable to or even lower than those of the past two years. However, mood disorders are up 17% among those aged 15–44 compared to Week 9. The level reached in Week 10 remains, at this stage, close to the observed values. Mood disorders are stable among those aged 45 and older.

• Among children under 15, after three weeks of decline and one week of moderate increase, admissions for suicidal behavior rose sharply in Week 10: 184 admissions in Week 10 (vs. 133 in Week 9, a 38% increase). The observed level remains higher than in previous years: 140 in Week 9 of 2020 and 132 in Week 9 of 2019.

Admissions for mood disorders (including depressive disorders) are up for the second consecutive week, with 160 admissions in Q10 vs. 114 in Q09, a 40% increase. The level reached in Week 10 remains between 1.6 and 5 times higher than in previous years (32 and 98 visits in Week 10 of 2020 and 2019, respectively).

Visits for anxiety disorders are on the rise, with 289 visits in S10 compared to 202 in S09, representing a 43% increase. The level reached in S10 is slightly higher than in previous years (217 and 262 visits in S10 for 2020 and 2019, respectively).

Among children, increases in visits for mood disorders and suicidal behavior have been observed for the second consecutive week and are typical during the return-to-school period following the winter break.

Medical procedure data from the SOS Médecins associations

• Medical procedures for anxiety remain stable across all age groups, with the exception of those under 15, where numbers have risen for three consecutive weeks, albeit from a low baseline (38 procedures in S10 vs. 34 in S09, a 12% increase). For all age groups, however, these procedures remain within the fluctuation ranges observed over the past few weeks and at a level higher than those seen over the past two years.

• Cases involving depressive disorders are declining or stable at a level slightly higher than in the previous two years across all age groups. After three weeks of increases, cases involving depressive disorders among those aged 65 and older have returned to their usual fluctuation ranges.

• Procedures for behavioral disorders are down and at levels comparable to the past two years across all age groups.

• Procedures for alcohol-related conditions (chronic alcoholism / acute intoxication / withdrawal syndrome) (indicator not shown) have increased compared to S09 among those aged 15–44 (+20%) and 45–64 (+57%), but remain at levels comparable to the past two years across all age groups.

No notable changes in the other mental health indicators being monitored.