Citation

Botchway S, Fazel S. Lancet Psychiatry 2021; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/S2215-0366(21)00117-6

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

In The Lancet Psychiatry, Jane Pirkis and colleagues present the results of an interrupted time-series analysis of real-time data on suicides from 21 countries, including national data from ten countries as well as data from 25 regions across a further 11 countries. Their analysis suggests that, in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic (April 1 to July 31, 2020), rates of suicide did not increase relative to modelled estimates of the number of suicides that would have occurred in this period without the pandemic. Additionally, the results indicated that suicide rates might have decreased in some areas. Pirkis and colleagues' findings contribute to existing understanding of the associations between suicide and national disasters, including those caused by infectious diseases. These early data on suicide during the COVID-19 pandemic are consistent with the observation that national crises can be associated with a protective effect against suicide, perhaps due to greater social cohesion.

However, despite this initial snapshot, governments and services need to remain vigilant for a possible delayed increase in suicides as a result of the pandemic. Suicide can be a lagging indicator of psychosocial difficulties, influenced by medium-term and longer-term disruptions to civic life and the economy. Other work has shown that suicides can increase following economic recession, and such increases can be sustained for several years. Without counter-measures, ongoing reductions in economic activity can translate into individual financial and personal problems, such as job losses, reduced social status, housing instability, and relationship breakdowns. Alongside social isolation and disruption of normal routines, these factors can, in turn, increase the incidence of suicide through rises in mental health conditions such as depression as well as drug and alcohol misuse. Similar mechanisms might be relevant during the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftershocks...

Language: en