Monthly suicide rates during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from Japan.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Ruiz Sanchez G
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8446371 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:This study estimated the excess suicidal mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan. A Poisson regression model was used to assess the association between unemployment rates, expenditure for alcohol, eating out, and suicide, from January 2008 to March 2020. The excess suicidal mortality was assessed by applying the identified model to data from April 2020 to December 2021. The number of estimated excess deaths during COVID-19 was 3397 in men and 2390 in women. COVID-19 may have caused unprecedented psychological distress among people, owing to restricted social gatherings and prolonged uncertainties.
| S-EPMC9356913 | biostudies-literature
Project description:During the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan, various measures have been implemented to prevent the spread of infection, including restrictions on human mobility. A dynamic fluctuation in the number of suicides has been observed during this period. The question is whether the increase/decrease in suicides during the pandemic is related to changes in human mobility. To answer the same, we estimated incidence rate ratios (IRR) of suicide for changes in human mobility using the relative number of suicides by month from March 2020 to September 2021, based on the same months in 2019 as reference. The IRR of suicide during the pandemic were significantly lower in the months when mobility decreased-in both the previous and current month-than in the months when mobility was stable; the IRR of suicide were statistically higher in the months with increased mobility compared with the stable months. The burden from a decrease in one's mobility, which might lead to an increase in suicide, may not occur immediately, as seen in the delayed effects of unemployment. It may be important to investigate people's mental health and stress levels after pandemic restrictions were relaxed. The findings may help practitioners and families consider the timing of intervention.
| S-EPMC9548340 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ImportanceAlthough the suicide rate in Japan increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, the reasons for suicide have yet to be comprehensively investigated.ObjectiveTo assess which reasons for suicide had rates that exceeded the expected number of suicide deaths for that reason during the COVID-19 pandemic.Design, setting, and participantsThis national, population-based cross-sectional study of data on suicides gathered by the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare from January 2020 to May 2021 used a times-series analysis on the numbers of reason-identified suicides. Data of decedents were recorded by the National Police Agency and compiled by the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare.ExposureFor category analysis, we compared data from January 2020 to May 2021 with data from December 2014 to June 2020. For subcategory analysis, data from January 2020 to May 2021 were compared with data from January 2019 to June 2020.Main outcomes and measuresThe main outcome was the monthly excess suicide rate, ie, the difference between the observed number of monthly suicide deaths and the upper bound of the 1-sided 95% CI for the expected number of suicide deaths in that month. Reasons for suicide were categorized into family, health, economy, work, relationships, school, and others, which were further divided into 52 subcategories. A quasi-Poisson regression model was used to estimate the expected number of monthly suicides. Individual regression models were used for each of the 7 categories, 52 subcategories, men, women, and both genders.ResultsFrom the 29 938 suicides (9984 [33.3%] women; 1093 [3.7%] aged <20 years; 3147 [10.5%] aged >80 years), there were 21 027 reason-identified suicides (7415 [35.3%] women). For both genders, all categories indicated monthly excess suicide rates, except for school in men. October 2020 had the highest excess suicide rates for all cases (observed, 1577; upper bound of 95% CI for expected number of suicides, 1254; 25.8% greater). In men, the highest monthly excess suicide rate was 24.3% for the other category in August 2020 (observed, 87; upper bound of 95% CI for expected number, 70); in women, it was 85.7% for school in August 2020 (observed, 26; upper bound of 95% CI for expected number, 14).Conclusions and relevanceIn this study, observed suicides corresponding to all 7 categories of reasons exceeded the monthly estimates (based on data from before or during the COVID-19 pandemic), except for school-related reasons in men. This study can be used as a basis for developing intervention programs for suicide prevention.
| S-EPMC8804915 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundThere is concern about the impact of COVID-19, and the control measures to prevent the spread, on children's mental health. The aim of this work was to identify if there had been a rise of childhood suicide during the COVID pandemic.MethodUsing data from England's National Child Mortality Database (NCMD) the characteristics and rates of children dying of suicide between April and December 2020 were compared with those in 2019. In a subset (1st January to 17th May 2020) further characteristics and possible contributing factors were obtained.ResultsA total of 193 likely childhood deaths by suicide were reported. There was no evidence overall suicide deaths were higher in 2020 than 2019 (RR 1.09 (0.80-1.48), p = 0.584) but weak evidence that the rate in the first lockdown period (April to May 2020) was higher than the corresponding period in 2019 (RR 1.56 (0.86-2.81), p = 0.144). Characteristics of individuals were similar between periods. Social restrictions (e.g. to education), disruption to care and support services, tensions at home and isolation appeared to be contributing factors.LimitationsAs child suicides are fortunately rare, the analysis is based on small numbers of deaths with limited statistical power to detect anything but major increases in incidence.ConclusionWe found no consistent evidence that child suicide deaths increased during the COVID-19 pandemic although there was a possibility that they may have increased during the first UK lockdown. A similar peak was not seen during the following months, or the second lockdown.
| S-EPMC8604801 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundThe coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is an unprecedented public health crisis, but its effect on suicide deaths is little understood.MethodsWe analyzed data from monthly suicide statistics between January 2017 and October 2020 and from online surveys on mental health filled out by the general population in Japan.ResultsCompared to the 2017-19 period, the number of suicide deaths during the initial phase of the pandemic was lower than average but exceeded the past trend from July 2020. Female suicides, whose numbers increased by approximately 70% in October 2020 (incidence rate ratio: 1.695, 95% confidence interval: 1.558-1.843), were the main source of this increase. The largest increase was found among young women (less than 40 years of age). Our survey data indicated that the status of young women's mental health has been deteriorating in recent months and that young female workers were more likely to have experienced a job or income loss than any other group, suggesting adverse economic conditions surrounding them.ConclusionsContinuous monitoring of mental health, particularly that of the most vulnerable populations identified in this study, and appropriate suicide prevention efforts are necessary during the COVID-19 pandemic.
| S-EPMC8083330 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Suicide rates in Japan have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, and foreign residents may be more vulnerable to mental stress during such crises. Therefore, we aimed to compare the trends in suicide rates during the COVID-19 pandemic between foreign residents and Japanese citizens. Vital statistics of Japan data from January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2021 were used to calculate quarterly sex-specific suicide rates for foreign residents and Japanese citizens. An event-study analysis was conducted to evaluate whether suicide rates during the COVID-19 pandemic increased compared to pre-pandemic estimates; foreign residents and Japanese citizens were compared using difference-in-difference-in-differences estimates. Between 2016 and 2021, 1,431 foreign residents and 121,610 Japanese citizens died from suicide in Japan. Although the suicide rate for foreign residents was lower than that for Japanese citizens, Korean residents, who comprise approximately half of the foreign decedents, had largely higher suicide rates than Japanese citizens. The event-study analysis indicated that suicide rates increased among foreign residents for both men and women, and continued for men by the end of 2021. In Japanese citizens, after a decline in suicide rates in the second quarter of 2020, suicide rates increased both among men and women, and lasted for women until the fourth quarter of 2021. The difference-in-difference-in-differences analyses confirmed the initial decline in the second quarter of 2020 in suicide rate only in Japanese men and women, and the persistent increase through 2021 in foreign men. We found differential trends in suicide rates between foreign and Japanese men and women during the COVID-19 pandemic featuring a persistent increase in foreign men. Suicide prevention measures should be focused on these high-risk subpopulations.
| S-EPMC11290109 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic posed many mental health challenges to youth through unprecedented infection control measures such as nationwide school closures. Despite this, few studies have investigated trends in suicide among youth during the pandemic, let alone their reasons.MethodsPopulation-level data on crude monthly suicide rates (2016-2021) and reasons of suicide (2018-2020) among youth aged 10-19 years were obtained from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and the National Police Agency, respectively. Using an event study design (with a Poisson regression model to calculate changes-in-changes (CiC) estimates) and interrupted time series analysis, we investigated changes in monthly suicide rates during the first 12 months of the pandemic (May 2020 to April 2021) compared to pre-pandemic levels (May 2016 to March 2020). Additionally, we investigated the changes in reasons of suicide (family-related, mental illness, social concerns, and academic concerns).FindingsIn the event study analysis, suicide rates among youth increased during the pandemic relative to pre-pandemic levels, especially between August-November 2020 (e.g., ratio of the suicide rate in November 2020 relative to previous years, 1.86; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.30 to 2.66). Though suicide levels returned closer to pre-pandemic levels by December 2020, they remained slightly elevated into 2021. In the interrupted time series analysis, suicide rates increased from May to August 2020 (0.099 cases per 100,000 youth per month; 95% CI, 0.022 to 0.176), followed by a decrease from September to December 2020 (-0.086 cases per 100,000 youth per month; 95% CI, -0.164 to -0.009). We observed elevated suicide rates for all major reasons from summer to autumn 2020, especially suicides attributed to family-related problems and social concerns. Furthermore, rates of suicides attributed to mental illness remained higher than pre-pandemic levels into December 2020.InterpretationSuicide rates among youth remained slightly elevated compared to pre-pandemic levels into 2021. The reasons of the increase in suicide rates were multifactorial, including mental health issues and disruptions in social relationships. During a pandemic, interventions that provide mental support as well as opportunities for regular social interactions to youth may be beneficial.FundingNorwegian Agency for International Cooperation and Quality Enhancement in Higher Education.
| S-EPMC9366131 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ImportanceThere are concerns that suicide rates may have increased during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.ObjectiveTo assess whether suicide rates in Japan increased in April through November 2020 compared with previous years.Design, setting, and participantsThis cross-sectional study used national data obtained from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare from 2016 to 2020 on the monthly number of individuals who died of suicide in Japan from January to November of 2016 to 2020.Exposure2020 vs previous years.Main outcomes and measuresThe main outcome was monthly suicide rates, calculated as the number of individuals who died of suicide divided by the total population. A difference-in-difference regression model was used to estimate the change in monthly suicide rates in April to November 2020 vs these months in 2016 to 2019.ResultsAnalyses included 90 048 individuals (61 366 [68.1%] men) who died of suicide from 2016 to 2020. The difference-in-difference analysis of men showed that there was no increase in suicide rates from April through September 2020 compared with these months in 2016 to 2019, but that suicide rates were increased in October (difference-in-difference, 0.40 [95% CI, 0.14 to 0.67] suicide deaths per 100 000 population) and November (difference-in-difference, 0.34 [95% CI, 0.07 to 0.60] suicide deaths per 100 000 population). Among women, suicide rates in 2020 compared with 2016 to 2019 increased in July (difference-in-difference, 0.24 [95% CI, 0.09 to 0.38] suicide deaths per 100 000 population), August (difference-in-difference, 0.30 [95% CI, 0.16 to 0.45] suicide deaths per 100 000 population), September (difference-in-difference, 0.29 [95% CI, 0.15 to 0.44] suicide deaths per 100 000 population), October (difference-in-difference, 0.62 [95% CI, 0.48 to 0.77] suicide deaths per 100 000 population), and November (difference-in-difference, 0.29 [95% CI, 0.15 to 0.44] suicide deaths per 100 000 population). In secondary analyses in which the suicide rates of 2020 were compared with the expected rates based on trends from 2011 to 2019, the increases in suicide rates were most pronounced among men aged younger than 30 years (eg, November: observed vs expected rate ratio [RR], 1.48 [95% CI, 1.26-1.71]) and women aged younger than 30 years (eg, October: observed vs expected RR, 2.14 [95% CI, 1.76 to 2.52]) and 30 to 49 years (eg, October: observed vs expected RR, 2.30 [95% CI, 2.01 to 2.58]).Conclusions and relevanceThese findings suggest that compared with previous years, suicide rates in Japan in 2020 increased in October and November for men and in July through November for women.
| S-EPMC7856546 | biostudies-literature
Project description: Not available
| S-EPMC9999241 | biostudies-literature
Project description: Not available
| S-EPMC9068581 | biostudies-literature