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Child suicide rates during the COVID-19 pandemic in England

David Odd1,2, Tom Williams2, Louis Appleby3

  • 1School of Medicine, Division of Population Medicine, Cardiff University, UK.

Journal of Affective Disorders Reports
|November 29, 2021
PubMed

Insights

Child suicide deaths did not consistently increase during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, a potential rise was observed during the first UK lockdown, with contributing factors including social restrictions and home tensions.

Area of Science:

  • Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
  • Public Health
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Concerns exist regarding the mental health impact of COVID-19 and associated control measures on children.
  • The study investigates potential increases in childhood suicide rates during the pandemic.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine if childhood suicide rates rose during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • To compare suicide characteristics and rates in 2020 versus 2019.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized data from England's National Child Mortality Database (NCMD).
  • Compared suicide rates and characteristics of children in April-December 2020 with 2019.
  • Analyzed a subset from January-May 2020 for contributing factors.

Main Results:

  • 193 likely childhood suicide deaths were reported.
  • No overall increase in child suicide deaths was found in 2020 compared to 2019 (RR 1.09).
  • Weak evidence suggested a possible increase during the first UK lockdown (April-May 2020) (RR 1.56).
  • Contributing factors included social restrictions, disrupted services, home tensions, and isolation.

Conclusions:

  • No consistent evidence of increased child suicide deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • A possible increase during the first UK lockdown warrants further investigation.
  • Small numbers limit statistical power to detect minor increases.
Abstract

Keywords:
COVID-19LockdownSuicidechildren

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