Suicide trends varied by age-subgroups during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 in Taiwan

Abstract

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: The outbreak of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has led to unprecedented impact on mental health globally. Recent empirical data however, indicated that suicide rates in many countries remained unchanged or even decreased. Existing studies assessed the overall rates and did not stratify by age-subgroups. METHODS: We used an interrupted time-series analysis to model the age-stratified (<25, 25-44, 45-64, ≥65) trends in monthly suicide rates before (January 1st, 2017 to December 31st, 2019) and after (January 1st 2020 to December 31st 2020) the outbreak of COVID-19 in Taiwan. RESULTS: We found a slight decrease in overall suicide rates after the outbreak (annual average rates were 16.4 and 15.5 per 100,000 population, respectively, p = 0.05). Age-stratified analysis indicated that suicide rates increased in younger (<25) and decreased in the middle age group (25-64 years). In older age groups (≥65), an immediate rate decrease was observed followed by a sustained upward trend during the onset of the pandemic. CONCLUSION: Although an overall decrease in annual suicide rates was found after the outbreak, the age-specific subgroup analysis reveals a more nuanced picture. Stratified analysis is crucial to identify vulnerable subgroups in the midst of the pandemic.