Ashley Nixon1,2, Joseph De Koninck1,2, Stephanie Greenham2,3,4, Rebecca Robillard1,2, Addo Boafo1,3,4,5. 1. University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research at the Royal, Ottawa, Ontario. 2. School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario. 3. CHEO Research Institute, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa, Ontario. 4. Mental Health Program, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa, Ontario. 5. Department of Psychiatry, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: This study sought to examine fluctuations in admissions to a child and adolescent inpatient psychiatry unit in relation to school breaks, school starts, as well as time change transitions in and out of Daylight-Saving Time (DST). METHODS: Five years (2012-2017) of youth inpatient admissions to a pediatric hospital in Ontario were retrieved (n=2,498). A sub-sample was grouped weekly, starting on the Sunday of each week for a total of 260 weekly time bins. The number of admissions during in and out of school periods, school starts in the fall and winter semester, and time change transitions were compared. RESULTS: Admissions were significantly higher during school periods as opposed to out of school periods, and significantly increased from prior- to post-school starts. No significant difference in admission rates were found in and out of DST changes. Weekly time series analyses for DST changes and monthly time series analyses for school starts did not identify a significant seasonality in admissions. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that school periods and school onset may be significant stressors associated with an increased rate of psychiatric admissions. The presence of potential compensating factors is proposed to explain the lack of relationship between pedopsychiatric admissions and time change transitions.
OBJECTIVES: This study sought to examine fluctuations in admissions to a child and adolescent inpatient psychiatry unit in relation to school breaks, school starts, as well as time change transitions in and out of Daylight-Saving Time (DST). METHODS: Five years (2012-2017) of youth inpatient admissions to a pediatric hospital in Ontario were retrieved (n=2,498). A sub-sample was grouped weekly, starting on the Sunday of each week for a total of 260 weekly time bins. The number of admissions during in and out of school periods, school starts in the fall and winter semester, and time change transitions were compared. RESULTS: Admissions were significantly higher during school periods as opposed to out of school periods, and significantly increased from prior- to post-school starts. No significant difference in admission rates were found in and out of DST changes. Weekly time series analyses for DST changes and monthly time series analyses for school starts did not identify a significant seasonality in admissions. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that school periods and school onset may be significant stressors associated with an increased rate of psychiatric admissions. The presence of potential compensating factors is proposed to explain the lack of relationship between pedopsychiatric admissions and time change transitions.
Authors: R P Auerbach; J Alonso; W G Axinn; P Cuijpers; D D Ebert; J G Green; I Hwang; R C Kessler; H Liu; P Mortier; M K Nock; S Pinder-Amaker; N A Sampson; S Aguilar-Gaxiola; A Al-Hamzawi; L H Andrade; C Benjet; J M Caldas-de-Almeida; K Demyttenaere; S Florescu; G de Girolamo; O Gureje; J M Haro; E G Karam; A Kiejna; V Kovess-Masfety; S Lee; J J McGrath; S O'Neill; B-E Pennell; K Scott; M Ten Have; Y Torres; A M Zaslavsky; Z Zarkov; R Bruffaerts Journal: Psychol Med Date: 2016-08-03 Impact factor: 7.723
Authors: K Wiens; A Bhattarai; P Pedram; A Dores; J Williams; A Bulloch; S Patten Journal: Epidemiol Psychiatr Sci Date: 2020-04-17 Impact factor: 6.892