The impact of COVID-19 on suicidal ideation and alcohol presentations to emergency departments in a large healthcare system

Behavioral health (BH) complaints, including suicidal ideation (SI) and alcohol, are common in US Emergency Departments (EDs), [1-3]. The CDC published data in 2018 demonstrating a 25% overall increase in ED visits for SI and/or self-directed violence [4]. Additionally, the CDC reported that 24.5% of the population  > 12 years old engaged in binge alcohol use in 2017 [5]. A public health crisis occurred with the onset of novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19). Current “stay at home” orders have reduced human contact through social distancing [6].
Source: The American Journal of Emergency Medicine - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Source Type: research