Trends in youth acute care hospital visits for anxiety and depression in Illinois.

Purpose: This study analyzes the trajectory of youth emergency department or inpatient hospital visits for depression or anxiety in Illinois before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: We analyze emergency department (ED) outpatient visits, direct admissions, and ED admissions by patients ages 5-19 years coded for depression or anxiety disorders from 2016 through June 2023 with data from the Illinois Hospital Association COMPdata database. We analyze changes in visit rates by patient sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, hospital volume and type, and census zip code measures of poverty and social vulnerability.

Screening for Youth Firearm Violence Exposure in Primary Care.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to assess a modified gun violence exposure tool at a pediatric clinic on the West Side of Chicago to identify youth at high risk of future gun violence.

Methods: A modified version of the SaFETy gun violence exposure tool, studied in a community pediatric primary care setting, was implemented from June to August 2021. Patients and pediatric clinicians were surveyed after pilot.

Caregiver Concerns About Child Development During the COVID-19 Pandemic among those with Missed Appointments: Preliminary Results.

Introduction: To examine caregiver's perception of their child falling behind on developmental milestones after canceled or delayed appointments in metropolitan Chicago during stay-at-home orders, from March 21-May 7, 2020.

Methods: We fielded a web-based caregiver survey to understand the impact of the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic on children's health care experiences characterizing proportions of caregiver perceptions of children falling behind in developmental milestones by canceled or delayed appointment types. Multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate the likelihood of falling behind in milestones .

Racial/Ethnic Differences in Food Allergy.

Immunoglobulin E-mediated food allergy is an increasingly prevalent public health concern globally. In North America, particularly in the United States, racial and ethnic differences in food allergy prevalence and rates of sensitization have become apparent. Black and Hispanic children in the United States have been estimated to have the highest rates of food allergy.

Sociodemographic Characteristics Associated With Hospitalizations for Anxiety and Depression Among Youth in Illinois.

Objective: Anxiety and depression are common pediatric mental health diagnoses seen in emergency departments (EDs), and trends in ED visits for anxiety and depression provide an important metric for epidemiologic monitoring of pediatric mental illness. This study was undertaken to examine trends in ED encounters and hospitalizations for anxiety and depression among youth in Illinois.

Methods: We examined ED encounters and subsequent hospitalizations from 2016 to 2017 among patients aged 5-19 years old with a principal diagnosis of anxiety or depression retrospectively using the Illinois Hospital Association Comparative Health Care and Hospital Data Reporting Services (COMPdata) for 190 nonfederal Illinois hospitals.