|
Huang et al. (2005) [Taiwan] Study period: 2003 |
Emergency department adult patients in a
SARS-dedicated hospital. |
Adults > 14 years |
Exposure: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
Measures: Not reported. |
Not reported. |
Attempted suicide via medication self-poisoning.
Measures: Emergency Department Medical Records. |
Increase in suicide attempts by self-poisoning
during peak epidemic stage; not statistically significant. |
3 |
|
Wasserman (1992) [USA] Study period: 1910–1920 |
USA citizens. Source: The US Bureau of the Census
(1910–1920). |
Not reported. |
Exposure: The Great Influenza Epidemic//"Spanish
Flu." Measures: Spanish Flu: Mortality data from the US Bureau of the Census
(1922). |
Social distancing (closure of schools, churches,
theaters, moving picture halls, dance halls, saloons, and sporting arenas,
curtailment of the 1918 political campaign. Some states were forced to don
gauze masks). |
Outcome: Suicide deaths. Measures: Surveillance
data. |
Mortality rate during the Spanish Flu (1918–1920)
was positively associated with an increase in suicide rates. |
5 |
|
Honigsbaum (2010) [UK] Study period: 1889–1893 |
UK citizens (with a focus on Sheffield and other
northern towns). |
Not reported. |
Exposure: Russian influenza. Measure: Historical
archives (medical officer of health and national and local newspaper
reports, and the poetry and memoirs of prominent survivors). |
Not reported. |
Outcome: Suicide deaths. Measures: Surveillance
data, historical documents. |
The epidemic coincided with a marked rise in the
suicide rate. Coroners' verdicts of suicide in England and Wales, of whom
60% were male, increased by 25% between 1889 and 1893, and in 1893 the
suicide rate peaked at 8.5/100,000, "the highest on record." |
5 |
|
Yip et al. (2010) [Hong Kong] Study period:
2003 |
Older adults in Hong Kong aged > 65 who died by
suicide that was SARS-related. N = 22. Source: Coroner
Court reports. |
Sex: M = 11, F = 11. Mean age: 74.9 (≥ 65), general
population. |
Exposure: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
Measure: Number of deaths from confirmed affected individuals. |
Quarantine actions at several hospitals and hotspots
to control the spread of the disease. In addition, social contact and
networking within the community was reduced to minimize the epidemic's
spread. |
Outcome: Suicide deaths that were SARS-related.
Measures: Suicide notes and witnesses' descriptions of the suicide
deaths. |
SARS-related older-adult suicide dead were more
likely to be afraid of contracting the disease (χ2 = 29.33, df = 1,
p < .001) and had fears of disconnection (χ2 = 9.26, df =
1, p < .002). The SARS-related suicide dead feared being
a burden to their families during the epidemic. No significant differences
in sociodemographics, employment status, medical or psychiatric profiles,
and level of dependence on others. |
4 |
|
Keita et al. (2017) [Guinea, West Africa]Study
period: 23/03/15–11/07/16. |
N = 256 for total study.
n = 33 for clinical observation with a psychiatrist.
Individuals aged ≥ 20, participating in the PostEboGui study, who were
receiving care at the Conakry site, and who had completed the CES-D. |
Sex: M = 118; F = 138. Age median: 32 (26–41). |
Exposure: Ebola virus disease (EVD). Measure: Having
EVD confirmed by laboratory exams and being admitted to the Ebola Treatment
Center for treatment. |
Not reported. |
Outcomes: Suicidal ideation and suicide attempt.
Measures: Clinical interview with a psychiatrist. |
Thirty-eight participants (15%) had a score higher
than the threshold value of the CES-D for depressive symptoms. In 33
participants who had a clinical consultation with a psychiatrist following
completion of the CES-D, 1 person presented with suicidal ideation and 3
participants had attempted suicide. |
3 |
|
Chan et al. (2006) [Hong Kong] Study period:
1986–2003. |
All individuals aged ≥ 65 who died by suicide in
Hong Kong during 1986–2003. Source: Census & Statistics Department of
the Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. |
Sex: Not reported. Age: ≥ 65. |
Exposure: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
Measure: Number of deaths from confirmed affected individuals. |
Resources were channeled to combating SARS at the
expense of routine nonemergency healthcare services. Widespread disruptions
in social networking were evident as most residents in Hong Kong minimized
their outings. |
Outcome: Suicide deaths. Measures: Surveillance
data. |
There was a significant rise in older adult suicide
rates from 2002 to 2003 (IRR = 1.32, p = .002). This
increase reached statistical significance for women (IRR = 1.42;
p = .014) but not for men (IRR = 1.22;
p = .087) or those under 65 (IRR = 0.97;
p = .48). |
5 |
|
Cheung et al. (2008) [Hong Kong] Study period:
1993–2004. |
All individuals ≥ 65 years of age who died by
suicide in Hong Kong during 1993–2004. N = 321 (detailed
information obtained for n = 303). Source: Hong Kong
Coroners' Court. |
Sex: M = 181; F = 122. Age: ≥ 65. |
Exposure: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
Measure: Number of deaths from confirmed affected individuals. |
Due to the fear of contracting SARS, older adults
reduced social contacts and were housebound voluntarily and/or
involuntarily. Besides, the quarantine measures imposed to curtail the
spread of the epidemic also played a role in weakening social networks. |
Outcome: Suicide deaths. Measures: Surveillance
data. |
Results showed an excess of older adult suicides in
April 2003, when compared with April of previous years. The annual
older-adult suicide rates in 2003 and 2004 were significantly higher than
that in 2002, suggesting the suicide rate did not return to the level before
the SARS epidemic. Overall severity of illness (χ2 = 25.104, df = 6,
p < .001), level of dependency (χ2 = 12.697, df
= 6, p < .013), and worrying about having sickness
(χ2 = 7.721,
df = 2, p < .021) among the older
adult suicides were found to be significantly different in the pre-, peri-,
and post-SARS periods. |
6 |
|
Okusaga et al. (2011) [USA] Study period: not
provided. |
Clinical sample of mood disorder patients versus
healthy controls. |
Sex (depressed sample): M = 95; F = 162. Mean age:
43.4 (SD = 10.9). |
Seropositivity for coronaviruses, influenza A and B
viruses; not related to particular epidemic exposure. |
Not applicable. |
Columbia Suicide History Form Interview |
Among individuals with a history of mood disorder,
seropositivity for influenza B was significantly associated with a history
of suicide attempt(s), 96 (97.0%) versus 104 (83.9%; p =
.001), and the odds of having attempted suicide were increased in influenza
B seropositive individuals (OR = 2.53, 95% CI [1.33,
4.80]). No association with influence A or coronaviruses. |
1 |
