Suicide in Italy during the COVID-19 pandemic: Excess mortality in 2021 among men and adolescent girls.

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic populations have been exposed to unprecedented and prolonged psychosocial distress that may have adversely affected mental health and suicidal behavior, especially in specific subgroups of the population. This study aims to evaluate possible excess suicide mortality in Italy during 2021 according to sex and age group. Cause-of-death data were used to analyze suicide deaths in the whole resident population in Italy aged ≥10 years. Excess suicide mortality according to sex and age group was evaluated by comparing observed deaths to expected deaths estimated using Poisson regression models fitted to 2011-2019 data, to capture pre-pandemic temporal trends. In Italy, during 2021 overall suicide mortality increased in both sexes, showing a significant excess in the male population compared to expected levels based on the pre-pandemic temporal trend. The number of male suicides was higher than expected in all age groups, with significant excesses for ages 25-34 or 65-84 years. A significantly high excess was found among females aged 10-24 years. Findings suggest monitoring the long-term effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on suicide mortality and targeting interventions on specific age groups of both male and female populations, especially adolescent girls.