Abstract
The effect of the 2020 pandemic, and of the national measures introduced
to control it, is not yet fully understood. The aim of this study was to investigate
how different types of primary care data can help quantify the effect of the
coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis on mental health. A retrospective cohort
study investigated changes in weekly counts of mental health consultations and
prescriptions. The data were extracted from one the UK’s largest primary care
databases between January 1
st 2015 and October 31st 2020 (end of follow-up). The
2020 trends were compared to the 2015-19 average with 95% confidence intervals
using longitudinal plots and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA).
A total number of 504 practices (7,057,447 patients) contributed data.
During the period of national restrictions, on average, there were 31% (3957 ± 269,
p < 0.001) fewer events and 6% (4878 ± 1108, p < 0.001) more prescriptions per
week as compared to the 2015-19 average. The number of events was recovering,
increasing by 75 (± 29, p = 0.012) per week. Prescriptions returned to the 2015-19
levels by the end of the study (p = 0.854). The significant reduction in the number
of consultations represents part of the crisis. Future service planning and quality
improvements are needed to reduce the negative effect on health and healthcare.