Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Incidence of Suicidal Behaviors : A Retrospective Analysis of Integrated Electronic Health Records in a Population of 7.5 Million
Valero-Bover, Damià (Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica de Bellvitge)
Fradera, Marc (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Facultat de Medicina)
Carot-Sans, Gerard (Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica de Bellvitge)
Parra Uribe, Isabel (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)
Piera-Jiménez, Jordi (Universitat Oberta de Catalunya. Estudis d'Informàtica, Multimèdia i Telecomunicació)
Pontes García, Caridad (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Farmacologia, de Terapèutica i de Toxicologia)
Palao, Diego (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Facultat de Medicina)

Data:	2022
Resum:	The COVID-19 pandemic has caused remarkable psychological overwhelming and an increase in stressors that may trigger suicidal behaviors. However, its impact on the rate of suicidal behaviors has been poorly reported. We conducted a population-based retrospective analysis of all suicidal behaviors attended in healthcare centers of Catalonia (northeast Spain; 7. 5 million inhabitants) between January 2017 and June 2022 (secondary use of data routinely reported to central suicide and diagnosis registries). We retrieved data from this period, including an assessment of suicide risk and individuals' socioeconomic as well as clinical characteristics. Data were summarized yearly and for the periods before and after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain in March 2020. The analysis included 26,458 episodes of suicidal behavior (21,920 individuals); of these, 16,414 (62. 0%) were suicide attempts. The monthly moving average ranged between 300 and 400 episodes until July 2020, and progressively increased to over 600 episodes monthly. In the postpandemic period, suicidal ideation increased at the expense of suicidal attempts. Cases showed a lower suicide risk; the percentage of females and younger individuals increased, whereas the prevalence of classical risk factors, such as living alone, lacking a family network, and a history of psychiatric diagnosis, decreased. In summary, suicidal behaviors have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, with more episodes of suicidal ideation without attempts in addition to younger and lower risk profiles.
Ajuts:	Instituto de Salud Carlos III PI017/01205 Instituto de Salud Carlos III PI21/01148 Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2017/SGR-1412
Drets:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Llengua:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Matèria:	Suicide ; COVID-19 pandemic ; Mental health
Publicat a:	International journal of environmental research and public health, Vol. 19 (november 2022) , ISSN 1660-4601

DOI: 10.3390/ijerph192114364
PMID: 36361243

12 p, 1.5 MB

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