Unveiling the patterns: exploring social and clinical characteristics of frequent mental health visits to the emergency department—a comprehensive systematic review

Abstract Background Frequent presenters (FPs) are a group of individuals who visit the hospital emergency department (ED) frequently for urgent care. Many among the group present with the main diagnosis of mental health conditions. This group of individual tend to use ED resources disproportionally and significantly affects overall healthcare outcomes. No previous reviews have examined the profiles of FPs with mental health conditions. Aims This study aims to identify the key socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of patients who frequently present to ED with a mental health primary diagnosis by performing a comprehensive systematic review of the existing literature. Method PRISMA guideline was used. PubMed, PsycINFO, Scopus and Web of Science (WOS) were searched in May 2023. A manual search on the reference list of included articles was conducted at the same time. Covidence was used to perform extraction and screening, which were completed independently by two authors. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were defined. Results The abstracts of 3341 non-duplicate articles were screened, with 40 full texts assessed for eligibility. 20 studies were included from 2004 to 2022 conducted in 6 countries with a total patient number of 25,688 (52% male, 48% female, mean age 40.7 years old). 27% were unemployed, 20% married, 41% homeless, and 17% had tertiary or above education. 44% had a history of substance abuse or alcohol dependence. The top 3 diagnoses are found to be anxiety disorders (44%), depressive disorders (39%) schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders (33%). Conclusion On average, FPs are middle-aged and equally prevalent in both genders. Current data lacks representation for gender-diverse groups. They are significantly associated with high rates of unemployment, homelessness, lower than average education level, and being single. Anxiety disorder, depressive disorder, and schizophrenia spectrum disorders are the most common clinical diagnoses associated with the group.