Table 2.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on suicidal attempts, death rates and trends
| Study (author and year) | Suicidal deaths (SD)/ suicidal attempts (SA) during COVID-19 | Number of events during the corresponding period of the previous year (2019) | Method of suicide/ suicidal attempts | Previous history of attempts | The trend of suicides/ suicidal attempts during COVID pandemic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammerman et al., 2021 [30] | SA: 44 (4.9%) | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| Bergmans and Larson 2021 [22] | SA and Intentional self-harm: 1348 | October 1st, 2015 to March 9th, 2020: 9405 | NR | NR | SA and Intentional self-harm: Decreased |
| Carlin et al., 2021 [31] | SA: 23 (35.4%) | 2019: 8 |
Jump from a height 10 (43.5%); Jump in front of a moving object 2 (8.7%); Cutting 6 (26.1%); Driving off the street 1 (4.3%); Self-immolation 1 (4.3%); Hanging 2 (8.7%); Ingestion of poison, harmful substance etc. 1 (4.3%) |
NR | SA: Increased |
| Chiba et al., 2020 [32] | SA: 36 (3%) | 2019: 26 | NR | NR | SA: Increased |
| Choudhury, 2020 [23] | SD: 59 | NR |
Hanging 55(93.2%); Poisoning 2 (3.3%); Drowning 2 (3.3%) |
NR | NR |
| Daly et al., 2021 [33] | Deliberate self-harm: 48 (1.6%) | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| Faust et al., 2021 [24] | SD: 139 | 2019: 166 | NR | NR | SD: No change |
| Hill et al., 2021 [34] | SA: 286 (2.2%) | 2019: 268 | NR | NR | SA: Increased during some months (corresponds to COVID-19–related stressors and community responses were heightened) |
| Holland et al., 2021 [35] | SA: 5029 | 2019; 4614 | NR | NR | SA: Increased |
| Isumi et al., 2021 [25] | SD: Only the rates presented- March 0.229, April 0.201, May 0.216 per 100,000) | NR | NR | NR | SD: No change |
| Mitchell & Li 2021 [26] | SD: 74 (Age adjusted suicidal rate in 2020- 9.4 per 100,000 persons) | 2014 to 2019; 495 (Total) |
Suffocation- 35 (47.3%) Firearm- 21 (28.4%) Poisoning- 13 (17.6%) Other—5 (6.8%) |
NR | SD: Decreased |
| Nomura et al., 2021 [27] | SD: 15,066 | 2019; 15,520 | NR | NR | SD: Decreased during the time of crisis but increased after the immediate crisis has passed |
| Ontiveros et al., 2021 [36] | SA: 5807 | 2018 and 2019; 13,800 (Total) | Ingestion of poison | NR | SA: Decreased |
| Radeloff et al., 2021 [28] | SD: 53 | 2010 to 2019; 590 (Total) | NR | NR | SD: Not changed |
| Sakamoto et al., 2021 [29] | SD: 17,794 | 2016 to 2019; 12,398 (total of monthly mean number from) | NR | NR | SD: Increased |
| Sengupta et al., 2020 [37] | SD: 110 (February to April 2020); April 2020: 50 | SD: 33 (April 2019) |
Burns-10 (9.1%) Hanging- 80 (72.7%) Poisoning-15 (13.7%) Others- 5 (4.5%) |
NR |
SD: Increased *The number of suicide cases during the first month of the lockdown following the pandemic has drastically increased compared to a couple of months prior |
| Shrestha et al., 2021 [39] | SD & Self-harm: 55 | 2019; 38 | Poisoning 47 (85.5%), Drug overdose 4 (7.3%), Hanging 4 (7.3%) | NR | SD and Self-harm: Increased |
| Yeates et al., 2021 [38] | SA: 125 (1.9%) | 2019; 120 (1.6%) | NR | NR | SA: No change |
SD Suicidal deaths, SA Suicidal attempts, NR Not reported