4 ms·

> This is heartbreaking, and by no means anomalous. I know a number of people that have committed suicide during the lock downs. Do you have any basis for that

by rualca 6y ago

> This is heartbreaking, and by no means anomalous. I know a number of people that have committed suicide during the lock downs. Do you have any basis for that assertion? I've seen that argument being made since lockdowns started to be declared but there is never a single shred of data or source or evidence substantiating any of those claims.

freedomben 6y ago
I do not, just anecdata, so take my declaration as opinion extrapolated from lived experience. I've seen a few interesting links but haven't studied them yet. I'll add a note to the post.
- rualca 6y ago
  I've spent a few minutes googling for the topic, and I've stumbled in this link: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/suicide.shtml https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/suicide.shtml Taken from the page: > During that 20-year period, the total suicide rate in the United States increased 35% from 10.5 per 100,000 in 1999 to 14.2 per 100,000 in 2018. It seems that suicide rates in the us have been constantly increasing for the past two decades, and there is no break in the trend during the past year.
  - jessaustin 6y ago
    The past two decades coincide with the increase in violent military action overseas. It's too bad that those who have made these horrible decisions don't face the consequences of their greed. They leave that to the enlisted.
mcguire 6y ago
I note that 0.1%, or about 350,000 people) of the US population has died of COVID19. (https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/ https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/) Suicides have been increasing in the US over recent decades and suicides are under-reported, but the annual suicide rate has been about an order of magnitude less than COVID19 deaths. Large quotes follow: "As many countries face new stay-at-home restrictions to curb the spread of covid-19, there are concerns that rates of suicide may increase—or have already increased.12 Several factors underpin these concerns, including a deterioration in population mental health,3 a higher prevalence of reported thoughts and behaviours of self-harmamong people with covid-19,4 problems accessing mental health services,4 and evidence suggesting that previous epidemics such as SARS (2003) were associated with a rise in deaths by suicide.5 "Widely reported studies modelling the effect of the covid-19 pandemic on suicide rates predicted increases ranging from 1% to 145%,6 largely reflecting variation in underlying assumptions. Particular emphasis has been given to the effect of the pandemic on children and young people. Numerous surveys have highlighted that their mental health has been disproportionately affected, relative to older adults,37 and some suggest an increase in suicidal thoughts and self-harm.8 "Supposition, however, is no replacement for evidence. Timely data on rates of suicide are vital, and for some months we have been tracking and reviewing relevant studies for a living systematic review.6 The first version in June found no robust epidemiological studies with suicide as an outcome, but several studies reporting suicide trends have emerged more recently. Overall, the literature on the effect of covid-19 on suicide should be interpreted with caution. Most of the available publications are preprints, letters (neither is peer reviewed),91011 or commentaries using news reports of deaths by suicide as the data source.12 "Nevertheless, a reasonably consistent picture is beginning to emerge from high income countries. Reports suggest either no rise in suicide rates (Massachusetts, USA11; Victoria, Australia13; England14) or a fall (Japan,9 Norway15) in the early months of the pandemic. The picture is much less clear in low income countries, where the safety nets available in better resourced settings may be lacking. News reports of police data from Nepal suggest a rise in suicides,12 whereas an analysis of data from Peru suggests the opposite.10 "Any change in the risk of suicide associated with covid-19 is likely to be dynamic. The 20% decrease in Japan early in the pandemic seemed to reverse in August, when a 7.7% rise was reported.9 Evidence from previous epidemics suggests a short term decrease in suicide can occur initially—possibly linked to a “honeymoon period” or “pulling together” phenomenon.5 Trends in certain groups may be hidden when looking at overall rates, and the National Child Mortality Database has identified a concerning signal that deaths by suicide among under 18s may have increased during the first phase of lockdown in the UK.16" -- "Trends in suicide during the covid-19 pandemic" (https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4352 https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4352) "“Based on preliminary data, Oregon has not seen an increase in the number of suicides for the first nine months of 2020 when compared to the same time period in 2019,” Oregon Health Authority communications officer wrote Aria Seligmann in an email. "The monthly suicide surveillance updates published by the Oregon agency (https://www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/PREVENTIONWELLNESS/SAFELIVING/SUICIDEPREVENTION/Documents/Monthly_Suicide-Related_data_report.pdf https://www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/PREVENTIONWELLNESS/SAFELIVING/...) show the frequency of suicide-related visits to hospital emergency rooms and urgent care centers decreased in the first and second quarters of 2020. For the third quarter of this year, suicide-related visits were similar to 2019. Suicide-related calls in 2020 to the Oregon Poison Center are coming in at a similar pace to last year, too. "Likewise, the Washington State Department of Health and the biggest local health department in the state reported no discernible upward trend, maybe even a slight decrease in suicide deaths, in the first three quarters of 2020. "As of a November tally, there were 861 suicides statewide in the first three quarters of 2020, compared to 940 suicides in the same period of 2019. A Washington DOH spokesperson cautioned that there are delays in the state’s death data collection, so the preliminary tally of suicide deaths will probably be higher when finalized — and therefore track closely with the pre-pandemic trend." -- (https://www.opb.org/article/2020/12/16/pandemic-2020-suicide-data-oregon-washington/ https://www.opb.org/article/2020/12/16/pandemic-2020-suicide...) The data is, largely, not available, and suicide prevention is a very important aspect of the current healthcare situation, but as it appears now, COVID19 is a much greater health threat than pandemic-response-related suicides.

by rualca 6y ago

freedomben 6y ago

I do not, just anecdata, so take my declaration as opinion extrapolated from lived experience. I've seen a few interesting links but haven't studied them yet. I'll add a note to the post.

rualca 6y ago
I've spent a few minutes googling for the topic, and I've stumbled in this link: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/suicide.shtml https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/suicide.shtml Taken from the page: > During that 20-year period, the total suicide rate in the United States increased 35% from 10.5 per 100,000 in 1999 to 14.2 per 100,000 in 2018. It seems that suicide rates in the us have been constantly increasing for the past two decades, and there is no break in the trend during the past year.
- jessaustin 6y ago
  The past two decades coincide with the increase in violent military action overseas. It's too bad that those who have made these horrible decisions don't face the consequences of their greed. They leave that to the enlisted.

mcguire 6y ago

I note that 0.1%, or about 350,000 people) of the US population has died of COVID19. (https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/ https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/) Suicides have been increasing in the US over recent decades and suicides are under-reported, but the annual suicide rate has been about an order of magnitude less than COVID19 deaths. Large quotes follow: "As many countries face new stay-at-home restrictions to curb the spread of covid-19, there are concerns that rates of suicide may increase—or have already increased.12 Several factors underpin these concerns, including a deterioration in population mental health,3 a higher prevalence of reported thoughts and behaviours of self-harmamong people with covid-19,4 problems accessing mental health services,4 and evidence suggesting that previous epidemics such as SARS (2003) were associated with a rise in deaths by suicide.5 "Widely reported studies modelling the effect of the covid-19 pandemic on suicide rates predicted increases ranging from 1% to 145%,6 largely reflecting variation in underlying assumptions. Particular emphasis has been given to the effect of the pandemic on children and young people. Numerous surveys have highlighted that their mental health has been disproportionately affected, relative to older adults,37 and some suggest an increase in suicidal thoughts and self-harm.8 "Supposition, however, is no replacement for evidence. Timely data on rates of suicide are vital, and for some months we have been tracking and reviewing relevant studies for a living systematic review.6 The first version in June found no robust epidemiological studies with suicide as an outcome, but several studies reporting suicide trends have emerged more recently. Overall, the literature on the effect of covid-19 on suicide should be interpreted with caution. Most of the available publications are preprints, letters (neither is peer reviewed),91011 or commentaries using news reports of deaths by suicide as the data source.12 "Nevertheless, a reasonably consistent picture is beginning to emerge from high income countries. Reports suggest either no rise in suicide rates (Massachusetts, USA11; Victoria, Australia13; England14) or a fall (Japan,9 Norway15) in the early months of the pandemic. The picture is much less clear in low income countries, where the safety nets available in better resourced settings may be lacking. News reports of police data from Nepal suggest a rise in suicides,12 whereas an analysis of data from Peru suggests the opposite.10 "Any change in the risk of suicide associated with covid-19 is likely to be dynamic. The 20% decrease in Japan early in the pandemic seemed to reverse in August, when a 7.7% rise was reported.9 Evidence from previous epidemics suggests a short term decrease in suicide can occur initially—possibly linked to a “honeymoon period” or “pulling together” phenomenon.5 Trends in certain groups may be hidden when looking at overall rates, and the National Child Mortality Database has identified a concerning signal that deaths by suicide among under 18s may have increased during the first phase of lockdown in the UK.16" -- "Trends in suicide during the covid-19 pandemic" (https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4352 https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4352) "“Based on preliminary data, Oregon has not seen an increase in the number of suicides for the first nine months of 2020 when compared to the same time period in 2019,” Oregon Health Authority communications officer wrote Aria Seligmann in an email. "The monthly suicide surveillance updates published by the Oregon agency (https://www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/PREVENTIONWELLNESS/SAFELIVING/SUICIDEPREVENTION/Documents/Monthly_Suicide-Related_data_report.pdf https://www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/PREVENTIONWELLNESS/SAFELIVING/...) show the frequency of suicide-related visits to hospital emergency rooms and urgent care centers decreased in the first and second quarters of 2020. For the third quarter of this year, suicide-related visits were similar to 2019. Suicide-related calls in 2020 to the Oregon Poison Center are coming in at a similar pace to last year, too. "Likewise, the Washington State Department of Health and the biggest local health department in the state reported no discernible upward trend, maybe even a slight decrease in suicide deaths, in the first three quarters of 2020. "As of a November tally, there were 861 suicides statewide in the first three quarters of 2020, compared to 940 suicides in the same period of 2019. A Washington DOH spokesperson cautioned that there are delays in the state’s death data collection, so the preliminary tally of suicide deaths will probably be higher when finalized — and therefore track closely with the pre-pandemic trend." -- (https://www.opb.org/article/2020/12/16/pandemic-2020-suicide-data-oregon-washington/ https://www.opb.org/article/2020/12/16/pandemic-2020-suicide...) The data is, largely, not available, and suicide prevention is a very important aspect of the current healthcare situation, but as it appears now, COVID19 is a much greater health threat than pandemic-response-related suicides.