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Older People at Risk of Suicide: A Local Study During the COVID-19 Confinement Period
Ismael Puig-Amores1, Guadalupe Martín-Mora-Parra1, Isabel Cuadrado-Gordillo1
1Department of Psychology and Anthropology, University of Extremadura, 06071 Badajoz, Spain.
Background:
Suicide in older adults represents an insufficiently addressed public health problem, despite the aging population and the increase in mental disorders in this group. The COVID-19 pandemic and associated measures, such as lockdown, could have exacerbated this phenomenon. This study aimed to analyze the impact of the confinement decreed during the state of alarm in Spain on the incidence of deaths by suicide in people over 70 years of age in Extremadura.
Methods:
An observational and retrospective study was carried out, using data from the Institutes of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences, comparing the figures for 2020 with the years 2019, 2021, along with the average for the period 2015-2019. Statistical analyses included Chi-square tests and calculation of Relative Risk with 95% CI.
Results:
The results revealed a significant increase in deaths by suicide in the third quarter of 2020 compared to the periods compared, especially among men.
Conclusions:
It is concluded that confinement may have negatively influenced the mental health of older adults, which underscores the need for specific interventions and attention to regional contextual factors.
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