Depuis le 16 mars 2020, date de l’annonce du premier confinement en France dans le contexte de pandémie liée à la COVID-19 et de crise sanitaire, les Français ont connu un bouleversement brutal et durable de leurs rythmes et habitudes. La crise sanitaire a eu un impact fort sur la population générale et sur les patients souffrant de troubles psychiatriques. La demande de prise en charge en santé mentale est particulièrement accrue chez les jeunes, qui semblent les plus impactés par cette crise. Dans la première partie de cet article, nous décrirons l’impact de la crise sanitaire sur la santé mentale des jeunes et sur la fréquentation des urgences psychiatriques, avec une revue exhaustive de la littérature française et internationale. La littérature traitant de la santé mentale des enfants et des jeunes durant la crise sanitaire est vaste et régulièrement actualisée. Au 31 décembre 2021, seules quelques données concernant l’état de santé mentale des jeunes sont chiffrées et publiées. Dans la seconde partie, nous présenterons une étude épidémiologique descriptive réalisée dans le plus grand centre d’urgences psychiatriques français, afin de mettre en évidence les changements des flux de consultations des patients âgés de 15 à 25 ans durant la première année de la crise sanitaire, comparativement aux trois années précédentes. En conclusion, nous évoquerons les mesures et adaptations du système de soins français mises en place pour prendre en charge les besoins accrus en santé mentale de cette population spécifique des 15–25 ans, particulièrement malmenée par la crise sanitaire, véritable enjeu national de santé publique.

Since March 16, 2020, the date of the announcement of the first confinement in France in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and health crisis, French residents have experienced a brutal and lasting disruption in their rhythms and habits. The health crisis has had a strong impact on the general population and especially on patients suffering from psychiatric disorders. The demand for mental health care has particularly heightened among young people, who seem to be the most affected by this crisis. In the first part of this article, we will describe the impact of the health crisis on the mental health of young people and on the attendance of psychiatric emergencies, with a review of French and international literature. In the second part, we will present a descriptive epidemiological study carried out in the largest French psychiatric emergency center.

Our sample included 9,771 young patients from 15 to 25 years old. The main objective of our study is to highlight the changes in the flow of consultations of patients aged 15 to 25 years during the first year of the health crisis, compared to the three previous years. We calculated and compared the proportion of the target population consulting between the period of the first year of the health crisis (COVID period) and the period encompassing the previous three years (pre-COVID period). We also compared different variables, between the 2,179 young people consulting during the first year of COVID-19 health crisis and the 7,592 young people during the three last years: age, sex, marital status, symptoms, environmental context and CIM-10 diagnoses.

We observed a significant increase in the proportion of patients aged 15 to 25 during the COVID period (n=29.4% vs. 27.6%; P<0,001). The patients during the COVID period were predominantly female. We have seen a significant increase in patients coming for consultations for anxiety (+4.3%; P<0.001), sleep disorders (+2.8%; P<0.001) and suicidal thoughts (+2.7%; P=0.006) during the COVID period. During the first year of the health crisis, the target population consulted less for claustration, withdrawal or odd behavior. Family conflicts, traumatic events and other life events were more frequent. Schizophrenia, schizotypal and delusional disorders were less frequently diagnosed.

The health crisis has had a considerable impact on the mental health of the youth population. The mental health of young people is a current subject of concern and a major public health issue. Data from the literature warns of the impact of the health crisis on the mental health of this population and the need for early treatment, even as the supply of psychiatric care is decreasing.