Citation

Deisenhammer EA, Kemmler G. Psychiatry Res. 2020; 295: e113623.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113623

PMID

33307386

Abstract

Concerns have been raised about the possibility of a drastic increase in suicide numbers in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic due to projected increases in unemployment rates and social and personal consequences of the lockdown implemented in many countries (Gunnell et al., 2020; McIntyre & Lee, 2020; Samson & Sherry, 2020; Devitt 2020). The six months which have elapsed since the beginning of the pandemic appear to be a reasonable observation period for a first look into the actual data.

The Tyrol Suicide Register (TSR) covers all suicide cases in the state of Tyrol, Austria, and is based on monthly individual-related reports provided by the police. We assessed suicide numbers of the period 01 April to 30 September 2020 and compared them with the respective numbers of the preceding years (2006 to 2019). Comparisons were made by means of a generalized linear model based on a Poisson distribution with log link, using the likelihood ratio test for significance testing...

Language: en