• William Gardner, Kathleen Pajer, Paula Cloutier, Roger Zemek, Lisa Currie, Simon Hatcher, Ian Colman, Dayna Bell, Clare Gray, Mario Cappelli, Duque Daniel Rodriguez DR Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Public Health, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada., and Isac Lima.
• School of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
• Can J Psychiatry. 2019 Nov 1; 64 (11): 789-797.

ObjectiveTo document the rates of intentional self-harm and mental disorders among youths aged 13 to 17 years visiting Ontario emergency departments (EDs) from 2003-2017.MethodsThis was a repeated cross-sectional observational design. Outcomes were rates of adolescents with (1) at least 1 self-harm ED visit and (2) a visit with a mental disorder code.ResultsRates of youths with self-harm visits fell 32% from 2.6/1000 in 2003 to 1.8 in 2009 but rose 135% to 4.2 by 2017. The slope of the trend in self-harm visits changed from -0.18 youths/1000/year (confidence interval [CI], -0.24 to -0.13) during 2003 to 2009 to 0.31 youths/1000/year (CI, 0.27 to 0.35) during 2009 to 2017 (P < 0.001). Rates of youths with mental health visits rose from 11.7/1000 in 2003 to 13.5 in 2009 (15%) and to 24.1 (78%) by 2017. The slope of mental health visits changed from 0.22 youths/1000/year (CI, 0.02 to 0.42) during 2003 to 2009 to 1.84 youths/1000/year (CI, 1.38 to 2.30) in 2009 to 2017 (P < 0.001). Females were more likely to have self-harm (P < 0.001) and mental health visits (P < 0.001). Rates of increase after 2009 were greater for females for both self-harm (P < 0.001) and mental health (P < 0.001).ConclusionsRates of adolescents with self-harm and mental health ED visits have increased since 2009, with greater increases among females. Research is required on the determinants of adolescents' self-harm and mental health ED visits and how they can be addressed in that setting. Sufficient treatment resources must be supplied to address increased demands for services.

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