Although the number of new instances of COVID-19 has decreased recently, an expert at the 2021 annual meeting of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy warned that the pandemic’s consequences on mental health and substance use disorders (SUDs) remain.

An emergency was proclaimed in children’s mental health on October 19, 2021, with professional organizations pushing governments to take immediate action to combat the issue in this younger generation.

Jeffrey Bratberg, PharmD, a clinical professor in pharmacy practice at the University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy in Kingston, Rhode Island, told meeting attendees that “anyone who has cared for children is very aware how life has gotten disrupted and of the mental health implications of that.”

The American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and Children’s Hospital Association issued a children’s mental health emergency declaration that noted that 140,000 children lost a caregiver during the pandemic, and these were disproportionately children of color. “Depression, anxiety, trauma, and loneliness have skyrocketed,” Dr. Bratberg added, and emergency department visits for suspected suicide attempts among 12- to 17-year-olds jumped 51% in early 2021 compared to early 2019 among girls.

Dr. Bratberg said that the mental health of people who care for children is closely linked to the mental health of children, citing the findings of a CDC report (MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2021;70:879-887). Parents, unpaid caregivers of adults, and those in dual parent/adult caregiver roles had a five-fold greater risk for a poor mental health symptom compared to those who weren’t in those roles, according to a new report. Parents and caregivers reported mental health symptoms in 70 percent of cases, including 55 percent of those with anxiety or despair, 54 percent with COVID-19-related trauma, and 32 percent with significant suicidal ideation.

For both parents and kids, Dr. Bratberg said, “we have to think about both parents and kids, and of the amazing benefits of keeping children in school… as long as they have implemented COVID-19 mitigation strategies.”

Dr. Bratberg, who has a research focus on substance use and has participated on the Rhode Island Governor’s Overdose Prevention and Intervention Task Force, noted that people with untreated mental health difficulties or substance usage have seen their conditions worsen during the pandemic.

The pandemic has exacerbated the difficulties faced by those with weakened immune systems, he said. The diagnosis of substance use disorder or a mental health illness is now being made instead of moving from problematic substance use to substance abuse during the diagnostic process, he explained.

According to Dr. Bratberg, the pandemic has been a stressor for those at risk of mental illness and substance use disorders in a variety of ways, including the bad news coverage and the use of protective measures like masks and social isolation. However, “they can cause significant morbidity and mortality,” he noted.

In the treatment of SUDs, a harm reduction method is to encourage persons who use drugs to use together, but if you are terrified of COVID-19, you will not do this.”