Did the COVID-19 Pandemic Period Increased Suicide Attempts in Society?

Abstract

Aim: To analyze the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine on suicidality. Material and Methods: This study was conducted on patients over the age of 15 who were suicidal and admitted to the emergency department of our hospital. The patients were disunited into two groups: pandemic group covering the period from March 11, 2020 to March 11, 2021, the former being the date when the first patient of COVID-19 was identified in Turkey, and pre-pandemic group covering the period from March 11, 2019 to March 10, 2020. Results: The study was conducted with a total of 271 patients. The number of suicide attempts in the first time period (March-April-May-June) was 42 (28.4%) in the pandemic group and 16 (13.0%) in the pre-pandemic group, with significantly higher numbers in the pandemic group for the first time period (p=0.008). The distribution in the remaining second and third time periods was similar to those in the previous year. Conclusion: Compared to the pre-pandemic period, suicide attempts significantly increased in the early stages of the pandemic as the first case was identified in Turkey and the lockdown was imposed because of the increasing cases. In the later stages of the pandemic, there was no obvious change in the amount of suicide compared to previous periods.