Minister of Social Security Romain Schneider provided insight into the respective statistics in his response to MPs Mars Di Bartolomeo and Georges Engel.
The number of patients under the age of 50 increased by 12%, while the rate for those over 50 decreased by 8%. This can be explained by the fact that during the lockdowns, tele consultations were introduced, which were more frequently used by younger people.
In 2020, around 6,700 patients sought psychiatric consultation, an overall increase of 2.1%. Tendencies increased especially during the second quarter of the year, while they fell again during the third and fourth quarter.
A similar observation can be made when it comes to the use of medication. While the overall use of antidepressants or sedatives has remained more less the same as in 2019, there was a significant peak registered in March 2020.
