COVID-19 and mental health: Retrospective analyses on the impact of global pandemic on psychiatric outpatient referrals in Northwest Peninsular Malaysia

Abstract Introduction: Recent studies have identified certain patient profiles associated with increased risks of mental health issues, potentially due to direct or indirect effects of the pandemic. This study aims to describe and compare the incidence of mental health issues and characterize patient profiles among new psychiatric referrals throughout the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in northwest Peninsular Malaysia. Materials and Methods: This retrospective, cross-sectional study was conducted among new cases referred for psychiatric evaluation from January 1, 2019, till to December 31, 2022, categorized into pre-COVID, early/mid-phase COVID-19, and late-phase COVID-19 timelines. Eligible subjects were selected through simple random sampling. Data collected included sociodemographic information and findings from mental health questionnaires. Data were descriptively analyzed. Results: A total of 183 new outpatient psychiatric referrals were analyzed. An increasing trend in new referrals was observed throughout the various phases of the COVID-19 timeline with a notable shift toward depressive disorders and anxiety disorders, followed by mental trauma and stressor-related disorders. Only 11.1% of new cases reported that their illness was related to COVID-19, primarily due to the impact of the Movement Control Order (66.7%), fear of infection (33.3%), vaccine-related concerns (20.0%) and clinical sequelae from COVID-19 infection. Conclusion: Our findings provide corroborated local data from the Southeast Asian region regarding the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on mental health. This data may serve as anticipatory guidance for future pandemic aiding public health planning and resource allocation to optimize patient care.