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

Damià Valero-Bover, Marc Fradera, Gerard Carot-Sans, Isabel Parra, Jordi Piera-Jiménez (), Caridad Pontes and Diego Palao
Additional contact information
Damià Valero-Bover: Catalan Health Service, Travessera de les Corts, 131-159 Edifici Olímpia, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
Marc Fradera: Department of Mental Health, University Hospital ParcTaulí, Parc Tauí, 08208 Sabadell, Spain
Gerard Carot-Sans: Catalan Health Service, Travessera de les Corts, 131-159 Edifici Olímpia, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
Isabel Parra: Department of Mental Health, University Hospital ParcTaulí, Parc Tauí, 08208 Sabadell, Spain
Jordi Piera-Jiménez: Catalan Health Service, Travessera de les Corts, 131-159 Edifici Olímpia, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
Caridad Pontes: Catalan Health Service, Travessera de les Corts, 131-159 Edifici Olímpia, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
Diego Palao: Department of Mental Health, University Hospital ParcTaulí, Parc Tauí, 08208 Sabadell, Spain

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 21, 1-12

Abstract: 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.

Keywords: suicide; COVID-19 pandemic; mental health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/21/14364/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/21/14364/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:21:p:14364-:d:961632

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().