Did suicides increase in Spain because of the Covid 19 pandemic?

A recent investigation studied changes in suicide mortality trends in Spain after the pandemic, as well as its effect on known risk factors

The Covid 19 pandemic placed enormous strain on health systems around the world. Beyond the problems directly derived from the virus, some countries reported an increase in suicides during the pandemic.

To understand the effects of the pandemic in Spain, the recent work of Alejandro de la Torre and collaborators has characterized the time series of suicide mortality in Spain between the years 2000 and 2021, focusing on the key years of the pandemic. In addition, their work focused on the demographic risk factors (sex, age, or residence).

Data from the National Statistics Institute (INE) were used. Annual mortality rates were compared between the years of the pandemic and the previous period. From these data, suicide mortality trends were analyzed considering demographic variables of interest.

A general increase in suicide mortality was observed. In 2018, an upward trend in suicides began to happen in Spain. The pandemic accelerated that effect. Also, some groups presented an increased risk, specifically people who were middle-aged, lived in large urban areas, and were single.

The pandemic increased suicides in Spain and affected pre-existing risk factors such as the lack of social support.

Original Paper: de la Torre-Luque, A., Perez-Diez, I., Pemau, A., Martínez-Alés, G., Borges, G., Perez-Sola, V., & Ayuso-Mateos, J. L. (2024). Suicide mortality in Spain during the COVID-19 pandemic: Longitudinal analysis of sociodemographic factors. European Neuropsychopharmacology, 82, 29-34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euroneuro.2024.02.006