Suchergebnisse

Abstract. Background: Although the number of suicides did not increase in 2020, there are concerns about the mental health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Aims: To present the demand for the Dutch suicide prevention helpline during times of lockdown and to describe the coronavirus-related problems discussed. Methods: An observational and exploratory study analyzing the frequency of helpline requests and registration data ( n = 893 conversations). Results: Demand for the helpline did increase, but with no distinctive relation with the lockdown measures. During the first lockdown, approximately a quarter of the analyzed helpline conversations were registered as coronavirus-related by the counselors. Most frequently mentioned conversation topics were the interruption to or changes in professional help, social isolation and loss of structure, and ways to find a distraction from suicidal thoughts/rumination. Limitations: Observational study design prevents causal inferences, and demand for the helpline is impacted by multiple factors. Conclusion: These coronavirus-related problems made help-seekers vulnerable to suicidal thoughts and a reduced desire to live. That many suffered from loneliness is concerning as this contributes to the risk of suicidal ideation. The distress among help-seekers due to the sudden loss of mental health care underscores the importance of maintaining contact with those in care and lowering the threshold for help.

Abstract. Background: Online forums that enable peer-to-peer interaction are widespread and readily available. Aim: This study aimed to identify the reach, benefits, and potential harmful effects for visitors to an online forum embedded in a suicide prevention platform in The Netherlands. Method: The study collected web-based questionnaires from online forum users and moderated posts. Descriptive quantitative and qualitative analyses were performed. Results: The online forum had 330 members in 2017, of whom 130 were active users (posting at least one message). Respondents ( n = 106) experienced from a high severity of suicidal ideation (78%). A minority (12%) visited the forum to find suicide methods and 3% to find a suicide partner. Among respondents who had visited the forum more than once ( n = 49), 53% reported no changes in feelings directly after forum use, 35% felt better and 12% felt worse. Peer support and anonymity were the most mentioned benefits, whereas no personal contacts and few reactions to postings were perceived as limitations. Suicide threats and the search for methods were the main reasons for moderating posts. Limitations: Usage habits and user experiences were available from a relatively small group that visited the forum more than once. Conclusion: In its current form, the forum has a low reach with few benefits and a potential for harm for its users. With a questionable benefit-to-risk ratio, the added value of the online forum appears to be small.

Background The COVID-19 pandemic is having profound mental health consequences for many people. Concerns have been expressed that, at their most extreme, these consequences could manifest as increased suicide rates. We aimed to assess the early effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on suicide rates around the world. Methods We sourced real-time suicide data from countries or areas within countries through a systematic internet search and recourse to our networks and the published literature. Between Sept 1 and Nov 1, 2020, we searched the official websites of these countries' ministries of health, police agencies, and government-run statistics agencies or equivalents, using the translated search terms "suicide" and "cause of death", before broadening the search in an attempt to identify data through other public sources. Data were included from a given country or area if they came from an official government source and were available at a monthly level from at least Jan 1, 2019, to July 31, 2020. Our internet searches were restricted to countries with more than 3 million residents for pragmatic reasons, but we relaxed this rule for countries identified through the literature and our networks. Areas within countries could also be included with populations of less than 3 million. We used an interrupted time-series analysis to model the trend in monthly suicides before COVID-19 (from at least Jan 1, 2019, to March 31, 2020) in each country or area within a country, comparing the expected number of suicides derived from the model with the observed number of suicides in the early months of the pandemic (from April 1 to July 31, 2020, in the primary analysis). Findings We sourced data from 21 countries (16 high-income and five upper-middle-income countries), including whole-country data in ten countries and data for various areas in 11 countries). Rate ratios (RRs) and 95% CIs based on the observed versus expected numbers of suicides showed no evidence of a significant increase in risk of suicide since the pandemic began in ...

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is having profound mental health consequences for many people. Concerns have been expressed that, at their most extreme, these consequences could manifest as increased suicide rates. We aimed to assess the early effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on suicide rates around the world. Methods: We sourced real-time suicide data from countries or areas within countries through a systematic internet search and recourse to our networks and the published literature. Between Sept 1 and Nov 1, 2020, we searched the official websites of these countries' ministries of health, police agencies, and government-run statistics agencies or equivalents, using the translated search terms "suicide" and "cause of death", before broadening the search in an attempt to identify data through other public sources. Data were included from a given country or area if they came from an official government source and were available at a monthly level from at least Jan 1, 2019, to July 31, 2020. Our internet searches were restricted to countries with more than 3 million residents for pragmatic reasons, but we relaxed this rule for countries identified through the literature and our networks. Areas within countries could also be included with populations of less than 3 million. We used an interrupted time-series analysis to model the trend in monthly suicides before COVID-19 (from at least Jan 1, 2019, to March 31, 2020) in each country or area within a country, comparing the expected number of suicides derived from the model with the observed number of suicides in the early months of the pandemic (from April 1 to July 31, 2020, in the primary analysis). Findings: We sourced data from 21 countries (16 high-income and five upper-middle-income countries), including whole-country data in ten countries and data for various areas in 11 countries). Rate ratios (RRs) and 95% CIs based on the observed versus expected numbers of suicides showed no evidence of a significant increase in risk of suicide since the pandemic began in any country or area. There was statistical evidence of a decrease in suicide compared with the expected number in 12 countries or areas: New South Wales, Australia (RR 0·81 [95% CI 0·72–0·91]); Alberta, Canada (0·80 [0·68–0·93]); British Columbia, Canada (0·76 [0·66–0·87]); Chile (0·85 [0·78–0·94]); Leipzig, Germany (0·49 [0·32–0·74]); Japan (0·94 [0·91–0·96]); New Zealand (0·79 [0·68–0·91]); South Korea (0·94 [0·92–0·97]); California, USA (0·90 [0·85–0·95]); Illinois (Cook County), USA (0·79 [0·67–0·93]); Texas (four counties), USA (0·82 [0·68–0·98]); and Ecuador (0·74 [0·67–0·82]). Interpretation: This is the first study to examine suicides occurring in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in multiple countries. In high-income and upper-middle-income countries, suicide numbers have remained largely unchanged or declined in the early months of the pandemic compared with the expected levels based on the pre-pandemic period. We need to remain vigilant and be poised to respond if the situation changes as the longer-term mental health and economic effects of the pandemic unfold.