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Depression is a prevalent disease, being one of the most relevant contributors of disability in the overall global burden of diseases. Hospitalization episodes are important quality indicators in psychiatric care. The primary aim of this study is to analyse depressive disorder related hospitalizations in Portuguese public hospitals and to detail clinical and sociodemographic differences among various subtypes of depression. Admissions with a primary diagnosis of depression in adult patients(> = 18 years) were selected from a national mainland hospitalization database. ICD-9-CM codes were used to select the diagnoses of interest: 296.2 × to 296.3x (Major depressive disorder), 300.4 (Dysthymic disorder) and 311 (Depressive disorder, not elsewhere classified). Birth date, sex, residence address, primary and secondary diagnoses, admission date, discharge date, length of stay (LoS), discharge status, and hospital estimated charges were obtained. A total of 28,569 hospitalizations (22,387 patients) with a primary diagnosis of depression were analysed. In the 8-year period of the study, 19.1% of all hospitalizations with a primary diagnosis of psychiatric disorder were linked to Depression. Major Depressive episodes were the most common (n = 15,384; 53.8%), followed by Depression unspecified episodes (n = 6,793; 23.8%), and Dysthymia (n = 6,392; 22.4%). Most episodes occurred in female patients (70.2%; n = 20,052), with a mean age of 50.6 years, and 37.0% (n = 10,564) of the episodes were associated to other psychiatric comorbidities. Depressive disorders are one of the leading causes of hospitalization in Portuguese psychiatric departments, being responsible for approximately 1 in 5 hospitalizations with a psychiatric diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bipolar Disorder (BD) is a mental disorder which frequently requires long hospitalizations and need for acute psychiatric care. The aim of this study was to describe a nationwide perspective of BD related hospitalizations and to use a BigData based approach in mental health research. We performed a retrospective observational study using a nationwide hospitalization database containing all hospitalizations registered in Portuguese public hospitals from 2008-2015. Hospitalizations with a primary diagnosis of BD were selected based on International Classification of Diseases version 9, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) codes of diagnosis 296.xx (excluding 296.2x; 296.3x and 296.9x). From 20,807 hospitalizations belonging to 13,300 patients, around 33.4% occurred in male patients with a median length of stay of 16.0 days and a mean age of 47.9 years. The most common hospitalization diagnosis in BD has the code 296.4x (manic episode) representing 34.3% of all hospitalizations, followed by the code 296.5x (depressed episode) with 21.4%. The mean estimated hospitalization charge was 3,508.5€ per episode, with a total charge of 73M€ in the 8-year period of this study.This is a nationwide study giving a broad perspective of the BD hospitalization panorama at a national level. We found important differences in hospitalization characteristics by sex, age and primary diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic (COVID-19) has an important direct and indirect impact on both physical and mental health. We aim to describe the impact of an emergency state period due to COVID-19 on psychiatric emergency department (ED) visits. We conducted a retrospective observational study analysing all emergency visits occurring at a metropolitan psychiatric ED between March 19th and May 2nd 2019 and 2020 (the beginning/end date of the emergency state which Portugal was under due to COVID-19). Data regarding age, sex, diagnoses, admission date, discharge destiny and status were collected. Diagnoses were classified using the International Classification of Diseases version 9, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM). There was a 52·2% decrease on the number of psychiatric emergency visits during the emergency state period (n2020 = 780 vs n2019 = 1633 episodes). The decrease on psychiatric ED visits was greater in the female sex and in the younger age groups. Episodes with a primary diagnosis of Mood disorders lead the decrease on psychiatric ED visits with 68·3% less episodes. Schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders was the diagnosis group with the smaller decline (9·8% decrease). COVID-19 emergency state period had an important impact on the number and characteristics of psychiatric ED visits, reinforcing the great indirect effects of COVID-19 on mental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by long hospitalizations and frequent need for chronic/acute psychiatric care. Hospitalizations represent a valuable quality of care indicator in schizophrenia patients. The aim of this study was to describe a nationwide perspective of schizophrenia related hospitalizations. We performed a retrospective observational study using a nationwide hospitalization database containing all hospitalizations registered in Portuguese public hospitals from 2008 to 2015. Hospitalizations with a primary diagnosis of schizophrenia were selected based on the definition by CCS – Clinical Classification Software diagnostic single-level 659. Schizophrenia subtypes were identified based on International Classification of Diseases version 9, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) codes of diagnosis 295.xx. A total of 25,385 hospitalizations were registered belonging to 14,279 patients. 68.0% of the hospitalizations occurred in male patients and the median length of stay was 18.0 days. In male patients' hospitalizations, the most frequent age group was 31–50 years followed by the age group of 18–30 years (55.9 and 24.0% respectively). For female patients, the most frequent age group was 31–50 years followed by 51–70 years (54.1 and 22.6%, respectively). There were 73 hospitalization with a deadly outcome (0.29%). Paranoid type was the most frequent subtype of schizophrenia (50.5%). The mean hospitalization charges were 3509.7€ per episode, with a total charge of 89.1 M€ in the 8-year period. This is a nationwide study using Big Data analysis giving a broad perspective of schizophrenia hospitalization panorama at a nationwide level. We found differences in hospitalization characteristics according to patients' gender, age and primary diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Suicidal behaviors are a serious but potentially preventable cause of premature death. Increased awareness of the importance of mental health for global health has led to new initiatives, supported by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations (UN). The suicide mortality rate is one of the indicators covered in the UN's Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3. The aim of this study is to identify the scientific production and its temporal evolution related to the suicide mortality rate indicator in the context of mental disorders and as one of the SDG. A bibliometric analysis was performed in Scopus to assess the related research on suicide mortality rate, including on the context of the third SDG, from inception to September 2, 2020. The set of articles were analyzed for bibliometric measures. A total of 3126 documents about mental health and suicide mortality rate on the context of SDG were collected. Articles were the predominant type of literature on this area (78.3%), with significant expression on the last years, more evident around 2015, the year of adoption of SDGs. Despite a large volume of evidence, the debate about suicide mortality rate as an indicator of SDG is still very sparse suggesting a need for better consensus on its evaluation methods. This study presents useful characteristics for the formulation of new studies and provides specific targets for the construction or improvement of public policies on the context of the SDGs for further discussion on this strategy proposed by the UN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]