Trends in suicide rates during the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions in a major German city

Background

It remains unclear whether the COVID-19 pandemic is having an impact on suicide rates. Social distancing, economic insecurity and increasing prevalence rates of mental disorders may cause an increase in risk factors for suicide.

Methods

Data on suicide events in a major city in Germany, and the corresponding life years were provided by the local authorities. For the year 2020, periods without restrictions on freedom of movement and social contact were compared with periods of moderate and severe COVID-19 restrictions. To avoid distortions due to seasonal fluctuations in suicide risk, data from 2020 were compared to data from 2010 to 2019.

Outcomes

A total of 333 suicides were registered and 2,791,131 life years (LY) were spent between 2010 and 2020. Of these, 42 suicides and 300,834 LY accounted for the year 2020.

In 2020, suicide rates (SR, suicides per 100,000 LY) were lower in periods with moderate (SR = 8.5, χ² = 4.374, p = 0.037) or severe COVID-19 restrictions (SR = 7.0, χ² = 3.999, p = 0.046) compared with periods without restrictions (SR = 18.0). A comparison with preceding years showed that differences cannot be attributed to seasonal variations. No age- or gender differences were found.

Interpretation

SR decreased during the COVID-19 restrictions; we expect SR to rise in the medium term. Careful monitoring of SR in the further course of the COVID-19 crisis is therefore urgently needed. The findings have regional reference and should not be over-generalized.

Funding

This study was conducted without external funding.