Pandemic restrictions and weight changes during inpatient care in an intermediate stay unit in patients with severe mental illness

Objective: Weight gain can harm health and be socially stigmatizing. We sought to determine whether weight gain during the inpatient stay, as collateral damage related to lockdown, was more in patients admitted during the lockdown in the first pandemic year than in those admitted during the same period in the immediately preceding year. To our knowledge, this has not been previously investigated. Methods: We extracted from medical record weight data during two similar 4-month periods (April-July) in 2019 and 2020. We examined the impact of the ward restrictions during the pandemic lockdown on weight gain using multivariable regression analysis, adjusting for potential confounding variables selected a priori: age, sex, baseline weight, metabolic syndrome or antipsychotic load, and duration of inpatient stay. Results: There were 59 patients, almost all with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Patients admitted in 2019 (n = 27) were significantly more likely to consume alcohol or use illicit substances, but otherwise did not differ much from those admitted in 2020 (n = 32). Weight gain during inpatient stay was not statistically significant for 2019 (+1.85 kg; P = 0.22), 2020 (+0.74 kg; P = 0.26), or for the 2 years combined (+1.25 kg; P = 0.10). Finally, weight gain during inpatient stay did not differ between 2019 and 2020 (P = 0.83). In the regression analysis, the year of admission was not significantly associated with change in weight during inpatient stay (beta, -0.11; P = 0.43). Conclusions: Our findings validate our ward strategies to reduce the risk of weight gain during lockdown in inpatients with severe mental illness.