Table 1.
Suicide related OHCA incidence Pre-COVID versus COVID time – total suicides, patient demographics, suicide mechanism, EMS treated/untreated.
| Suicide related OHCA Incidence | |||||||||
| Pre-Pandemic Period | |||||||||
| (population = 5,046,576) | Incidence rate pre-Pandemic per 100 000 annually | Missing | Pandemic Period | ||||||
| (n = 5153039) | Incidence rate Pandemic per 100 000 annually | Missing | |||||||
| Difference (with 95% CI) per | |||||||||
| 100 000 annually | |||||||||
| Total Suicides | 274 | 5.4 | – | 221 | 4.3 | – | −1.1 (−2.0, −0.28) | ||
| Demographics | |||||||||
| Male | 184 | 3.6 | 3 | 151 | 2.9 | – | −0.72 (−1.4, −0.0012) | ||
| Female | 87 | 1.7 | 70 | 1.4 | −0.37 (−0.85, 0.12) | ||||
| Mechanism | – | – | |||||||
| Hanging | 222 | 4.4 | 177 | 3.4 | −0.96 (−1.7, −0.20) | ||||
| Poisoning | 26 | 0.52 | 27 | 0.52 | 0.0088 (−0.27, 0.29) | ||||
| Suffocation | 22 | 0.44 | 13 | 0.25 | −0.18 (−0.41, 0.044) | ||||
| Unclear | 4 | 0.079 | 4 | 0.078 | −0.0016 (−0.11, 0.11) | ||||
| Treated by EMS | 106 | 2.1 | – | 118 | 2.3 | – | 0.19 (−0.39, 0.76) | ||
| Untreated by EMS | 168 | 3.3 | – | 103 | 2.0 | – | −1.3 (−2.0, −0.70) | ||
OHCA, out of hospital cardiac arrest; Pre-Pandemic, time period before COVID-19 in British Columbia (March 15, 2019 to March 14, 2020); Pandemic, time period during COVID-19 in British Columbia (March 15, 2020 to March 15 2021); CI, confidence interval; Poisoning, chemical or drug ingestion/inhalation/injection; Suffocation, asphyxiation/drowning; EMS, Emergency Medical Services.