Mental Disorders in German Pediatric Practices Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background Field studies show an increased mental distress in children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic. This health care data based study investigates, whether this corresponds with an increased number of diagnosed mental disorders in pediatric practices during the COVID-19 pandemics. Methods Data are based on children aged 2-17 years who visited one of 154 pediatric practices (Disease Analyzer database/IQVIA) at least once. Descriptive analyses were conducted. Results In 2020 and 2021, significantly more mental disorders were diagnosed compared to the two previous years (chi (2) p < 0.001). An increase was particularly evident in affective disorders, although absolute numbers were small with an average increase of 7 patients per practice per year. Discussion The pandemic-associated increase in mental disorders in children and adolescents is reflected in the physician-diagnosed cases in pediatric practices, but is small in terms of numbers in individual practices.