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Heroin Addiction and Related Clinical Problems: 2024, 26, 48

Hospital admissions for alcohol, opioids, cannabinoids and sedatives or hypnotics related intoxications among children, adolescents and young adults in Slovenia: the period before and after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic

Mercedes Lovrecic, Mateja Rok Simon, Ales Korosec, and Barbara Lovrecic

Digital Object Identifier:
https://doi.org/10.62401/2531-4122-2024-48

Summary: Background. To date, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children, adolescents and young adults substance use is not clear. The present study analysed the hospital admissions due to exposure to selected psychoactive substances in 10-24 years old subjects in Slovenia before and after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic period. Methods. We performed a retrospective study based on the data from the National Hospital Health Care Statistics on hospitalisations due to poisoning by alcohol, opioids, cannabinoids and sedatives or hypnotics. The diagnosis was coded according to the ICD-10 AM (ver.6). The hospital discharge rates of poisoning were calculated. The comparison of hospitalisation rates for the period before (2017-2019) and during/after COVID-19 (2020-2022) was based on Poisson regression. The RR (rate ratio), including 95% confidence interval and p-value, were calculated. Stata 15.1 software was used for statistical calculations. Results. In the post-COVID-19 period, the hospitalisation rate for alcohol poisoning decreased statistically significantly in children (10-14 years) (RR=0.64 (0.43-0.96), p=0.030) and adolescents (15-19 years) (RR=0.56 (0.46-0.68), p<0.001), and increased in the age group 22-24 years (RR=1.71 (1.01-2.89), p=0.045). For men and women, the change in the hospitalisation rate for alcohol poisoning was statistically significant only at ages 15-19 years (RR=0.60 (0.46-0.78), p<0.001) and (RR=0.52 (0.39-0.69), p<0.001), respectively. In the same period, the hospitalisation rate for poisoning changed. Still, the differences were not statistically significant for opioids (increased, most markedly in the age 15-21 years and women), for cannabinoids (decreased in children and adolescents, increased the most in females aged 15-19 years, decreased the most in males aged 15-19 years), for sedatives or hypnotics poisoning (increased in children, adolescents and in aged 22-24 years). In the post-COVID-19 period, the hospitalisation rate for sedatives or hypnotics poisoning increased more in women than in men and was statistically significant only in women aged 15-19 years (RR=2.03 (1.02-4.04), p=0.044). Conclusions. During COVID-19 pandemic, public health interventions were adopted, affecting patterns of psychoactive substance use.blic health interventions were adopted, affecting patterns of psychoactive substance use.

Keywords: Covid 19 pandemic; hospital admissions; intoxications; psychoactive substances; alcohol; opioids; cannabinoids; sedatives substances; hypnotics