Emergency department visitation for mental health related issues in San Diego county

Background: The County of San Diego, Community Health Statistics Unit prepares four ‘Community Profiles'; chronic disease, communicable disease, maternal/child health, and injury. In the coming year, a fifth profile, mental health, will be added. It is important to establish baseline mental health measures as this Community Profile is developed. Methods: We used 2010 – 2011 San Diego County emergency department (ED) data from the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development. Mental health categories were determined according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project. Results: In San Diego County, there was an 8% population-controlled increase in mental health-related ED visitation from 2010 to 2011. Combining the two years, there were 116,168 mental health-related ED visits, representing 8.3% of all visits and an overall rate of 1,870 visits per 100,000 persons. Females had higher rates of visits for self-inflicted injuries, as well as adjustment, anxiety, dementia/cognitive, and mood disorders. Males had higher rates for childhood/adolescent, alcohol-related, attention-deficit, schizophrenic/psychotic, substance-related, and developmental disorders. Those younger than 18 had the highest rates of childhood/adolescent, attention-deficit, impulse-control, and personality disorders. The highest rates of substance-related disorders and self-inflicted injuries occurred in the 18-29 age-group. Those aged 30-64 had the highest rates of mood, schizophrenic/psychotic, and alcohol-related disorders. The highest rates of dementia/cognitive and developmental disorders occurred in the 65+ age-group. Conclusions: San Diego County exhibits various differences in mental health-related ED visitation, which should be studied further in attempting to describe and address the overall mental health situation.