Epidemiology of Mental Health Attendances at Emergency Departments: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
The characteristics of Emergency Department (ED) attendances due to mental or behavioural health disorders need to be described to enable appropriate development of services. We aimed to describe the epidemiology of mental health-related ED attendances within health care systems free at the point of access, including clinical reason for presentation, previous service use, and patient sociodemographic characteristics.



Systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies describing ED attendances by patients with common mental health conditions.



18 studies from seven countries met eligibility criteria. Patients attending due to mental or behavioural health disorders accounted for 4% of ED attendances; a third were due to self-harm or suicidal ideation. 58.1% of attendees had a history of psychiatric illness and up to 58% were admitted. The majority of studies were single site and of low quality so results must be interpreted cautiously.



Prevalence studies of mental health-related ED attendances are required to enable the development of services to meet specific needs.
NIHR CLAHRC North Thames, Department of Applied Health Research, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
Helen
0000-0002-1387-137X
H
Barratt
NIHR CLAHRC North Thames, Department of Applied Health Research, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
Antonio
A
Rojas-García
Centre for Outcomes Research and Effectiveness (CORE), Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
Katherine
K
Clarke
Division of Psychiatry, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
Anna
A
Moore
Centre for Outcomes Research and Effectiveness (CORE), Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
Craig
C
Whittington
Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
Sarah
S
Stockton
Institute of Education EPPI-Centre, London, United Kingdom.
James
J
Thomas
Centre for Outcomes Research and Effectiveness (CORE), Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
Stephen
S
Pilling
NIHR CLAHRC North Thames, Department of Applied Health Research, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
Rosalind
R
Raine
D000328:Adult; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008603:Mental Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015995:Prevalence; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000453:epidemiology*; D059020:Suicidal Ideation