Examination of the impact of COVID-19 public health quarantine measures on acute mental health care services: A retrospective observational study.

This study assesses for the impact of Covid-19 public health quarantine measures on acute care psychiatric admissions, by comparing admission data from the quarantine period to a comparator period. A chart review was conducted for all admissions to an urban acute care psychiatric centre from Mar 22 - June 5 2020 (quarantine) and January 5 - Mar 21 2020 (comparator). Data was collected on the number of admissions, demographics, patients' psychiatric history, characteristics of admissions, discharge information, patients' substance use and social factors. Data was analyzed using a student's t-test for continuous variables and Chi squared analyses for categorical variables. Results demonstrated 185 admissions during quarantine and 190 during the comparator, with no significant differences in the distribution of admissions across time periods. There was a significantly greater frequency of admissions in the 35-44 age bracket and admissions involving substance use during quarantine. Additionally, admissions during quarantine were significantly shorter, with increased frequency of involuntary status and use of seclusion. The data suggests a vulnerability specific to individuals in their 30-40s during quarantine and demonstrates a need to better understand factors impacting this group. It also suggests that quarantine is associated with changes to substance use, potentiating high acuity illness requiring admission.

Maternal factors and monoamine changes in stress-resilient and susceptible mice: cross-fostering effects.

Genetic factors influence stressor-provoked monoamine changes associated with anxiety and depression, but such effects might be moderated by early life experiences. To assess the contribution of maternal influences in determining adult brain monoamine responses to a stressor, strains of mice that were either stressor-reactive or -resilient (BALB/cByJ and C57BL/6ByJ, respectively) were assessed as a function of whether they were raising their biological offspring or those of the other strain. As adults, offspring were assessed with respect to stressor-provoked plasma corticosterone elevations and monoamine variations within discrete stressor-sensitive brain regions. BALB/cByJ mice demonstrated poorer maternal behaviors than C57BL/6ByJ dams, irrespective of the pups being raised. In response to a noise stressor, BALB/cByJ mice exhibited higher plasma corticosterone levels and elevated monoamine turnover in several limbic and hypothalamic sites. The stressor-provoked corticosterone increase in BALB/cByJ mice was diminished among males (but not females) raised by a C57BL/6ByJ dam. Moreover, increased prefrontal cortical dopamine utilization was attenuated among BALB/cByJ mice raised by a C57BL/6ByJ dam. These effects were asymmetrical as a C57BL/6ByJ mice raised by a BALB/cByJ dam did not exhibit increased stressor reactivity. It appears that stressors influence multiple neurochemical systems that have been implicated in anxiety and affective disorders. Although monoamine variations were largely determined by genetic factors, maternal influences contributed to stressor-elicited neurochemical changes in some regions, particularly dopamine activation within the prefrontal cortex.