Suicidology

The COVID-19 pandemic is having profound mental health consequences for many people. Concerns have been expressed that, at their most extreme, these consequences could manifest as increased suicide rates. We aimed to assess the early effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on suicide rates around the world.

During June 24–30, 2020, U.S. adults reported considerably elevated adverse mental health conditions associated with COVID-19. Younger adults, racial/ethnic minorities, essential workers, and unpaid adult caregivers reported having experienced disproportionately worse mental health outcomes, increased substance use, and elevated suicidal ideation.

Suicide itself is considered to be a pandemic. A large-scale outbreak like COVID-19 can easily overwhelm the available public health resources, needing more workforce on the ground. This review glances at various possible hypotheses linking pandemics, suicides and suicidal behavior and propositions to mitigate the risk, based on the limited evidence available.