Increased symptom severity in adults and adolescents admitting to an inpatient psychiatric hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic

•Symptom severity differs between inpatients admitting pre- vs. during the COVID-19 pandemic.•Adult inpatients that admitted during the COVID-19 pandemic had higher anxiety, depression, nightmares, and disability than those who admitted before the pandemic.•Adolescent inpatients that admitted during the COVID-19 pandemic had higher anxiety, depression, and worse sleep quality than those who admitted before the pandemic.•Areas of future prioritization for inpatient are anxiety, depression, and sleep problems (nighttime sleep quality, nightmares), which all have well-developed evidence-based interventions.