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Suicide Deaths Before and During the COVID 19 Pandemic
- R. Rossom, R. Penfold, A. Owen-Smith, G. Simon, B. Ahmedani
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- Journal:
- European Psychiatry / Volume 66 / Issue S1 / March 2023
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 19 July 2023, p. S88
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- Article
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Introduction
With stressors that are often associated with suicide increasing during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, there has been concern that suicide mortality rates may also be increasing. Our objective was to determine whether suicide mortality rates increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.
With stressors that are often associated with suicideincreasing during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic,there has been concern that suicide mortality rates may alsobe increasing.
ObjectivesOur objective was to determine whether suicidemortality rates increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.
MethodsWe conducted an interrupted time-series study using data from January 2019 through December 2020 from 2 large integrated health care systems. The population at risk included all patients or individuals enrolled in a health plan at HealthPartners in Minnesota or Henry Ford Health in Michigan. The primary outcome was change in suicide mortality rates, expressed as annualized crude rates of suicide death per 100,000 people in 10 months following the start of the pandemic in March 2020 compared with the 14 months prior. We conducted an interrupted time-series study using data fromJanuary 2019 through December 2020 from 2 large integrated health care systems. The population at risk included all patients or individuals enrolledin a health plan at HealthPartners in Minnesota or Henry Ford HealthSystem in Michigan. The primary outcome was change in suicide mortality rates, expressed as annualized crude rates of suicide death per 100,000 people in 10 months following the start of the pandemic in March2020 compared with the 14 months prior.
ResultsThere were 6,434,675 people at risk in the sample, with 55% women and a diverse sample across ages, race/ethnicity, and insurance type. From January 2019 through February 2020, there was a slow increase in the suicide mortality rate, with rates then decreasing by 0.45 per 100,000 people per month from March 2020 through December 2020 (SE= 0.19, P=0.03). There were 6,434,675 people at risk in the sample, with 55% women and a diverse sample across ages, race/ethnicity, and insurance type. From January 2019 through February 2020, there was a slow increase in the suicide mortality rate, with rates then decreasing by 0.45 per 100,000 people per month from March 2020 through December 2020 (SE= 0.19, P=0.03).
ConclusionsOverall suicide mortality rates did not increase with the pandemic, and in fact slightly declined from March to December 2020. Our findings should be confirmed across other settings and, when available, using final adjudicated state mortality data. Overall suicide mortality rates did not increase with the pandemic, and in fact slightly declined from March to December 2020. Our findings should be confirmed across other settings and,when available, using final adjudicated state mortality data.
Disclosure of InterestNone Declared
Embarrassment when illness strikes a close relative: a World Mental Health Survey Consortium Multi-Site Study
- B. K. Ahmedani, S. P. Kubiak, R. C. Kessler, R. de Graaf, J. Alonso, R. Bruffaerts, Z. Zarkov, M. C. Viana, Y. Q. Huang, C. Hu, J. A. Posada-Villa, J.-P. Lepine, M. C. Angermeyer, G. de Girolamo, A. N. Karam, M. E. Medina-Mora, O. Gureje, F. Ferry, R. Sagar, J. C. Anthony
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- Journal:
- Psychological Medicine / Volume 43 / Issue 10 / October 2013
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 09 January 2013, pp. 2191-2202
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Background
In this global study we sought to estimate the degree to which a family member might feel embarrassed when a close relative is suffering from an alcohol, drug, or mental health condition (ADMC) versus a general medical condition (GMC). To date, most studies have considered embarrassment and stigma in society and internalized by the afflicted individual but have not assessed family embarrassment in a large-scale study.
MethodIn 16 sites of the World Mental Health Surveys (WMHS), standardized assessments were completed including items on family embarrassment. Site matching was used to constrain local socially shared determinants of stigma-related feelings, enabling a conditional logistic regression model that estimates the embarrassment close relatives may hold in relation to family members affected by an ADMC, a GMC, or both conditions.
ResultsThere was a statistically robust association such that subgroups with an ADMC-affected relative were more likely to feel embarrassed compared to subgroups with a relative affected by a GMC (p < 0.001), even with covariate adjustments for age and sex.
ConclusionsThe pattern of evidence from this research is consistent with conceptual models for interventions that target individual- and family-level stigma-related feelings of embarrassment as possible obstacles to effective early intervention and treatment for an ADMC. Macro-level interventions are under way but micro-level interventions may also be required among family members, along with care for each person with an ADMC.