The number of children visiting the Ste-Justine hospital emergency room (ER) for mental health reasons jumped significantly during the first few waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, new research reveals.

A study published in the Annals of General Psychiatry documented all visits to the Ste-Justine ER by children ages five to 11, between April 2016 and November 2021.

The monthly number of mental health-related visits jumped by 69 per cent during the first 20 months of the pandemic, although this increase dropped to 44 per cent when the data was adjusted for seasonal changes.

Girls were more likely than boys to present to the emergency department, researchers found, although no distinctions related to socio-economic status were revealed.

"Basically, girls presented more than boys for mental health reasons," said CHU Ste-Justine researcher Dr. Nicholas Chadi. "Is it that girls are more likely to seek care, or is it that girls have more psychological distress? Has the loss of social activities, sports activities, extracurricular activities, affected girls more than boys? I think that comes into play as well."

Another important component is the increase in screen time children experienced during the pandemic, the impacts of which have been "felt very strongly by young girls" -- especially when it comes to social media.

"We have never had so many young people hospitalized for eating disorders," Chadi revealed.

Whether it's anxiety disorders, mood disorders, eating disorders, substance abuse or neglect, "for all of these conditions, it's been above the expected averages and normals for the rest of 2021."

"It's unbelievable. We have so many young people coming in with suicidal ideas, suicidal attempts."

Chadi said the pandemic has made it harder to access services such as therapists or psychologists, which made the ER the most accessible resource.

"There has been an increase in mental health problems among young people over the last ten years, and this has been exacerbated by the pandemic," he concluded. "We have to make sure that we are there to support our youth, whether it's in the community, in health care, in the schools."

This report was first published in French by The Canadian Press on June 15, 2022.