Suicide trends in Germany during the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine

Daniel Radeloff; Rainer Papsdorf; Lars White; Jon Genuneit

doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2023.115555

Suicide trends in Germany during the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine

Psychiatry Res. 2023 Dec:330:115555. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2023.115555. Epub 2023 Oct 27.

Authors

Daniel Radeloff¹, Rainer Papsdorf², Lars White², Jon Genuneit³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Child- and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany. Electronic address: daniel.radeloff@medizin.uni-leipzig.de.
² Department of Child- and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
³ Pediatric Epidemiology, Department of Pediatrics, Medical Faculty, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany.

PMID: 38149554
DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2023.115555

Abstract

Aims: The later phase of the COVID-19 pandemic overlaps with geopolitical and economic consequences from the Ukraine war. Financial hardship and concerns about gas supply may add to pandemic factors and lead to increased suicide rates in Germany.

Methods: Age- and sex-stratified suicide data from police crime statistics covering 35 % of the German population were used for an interrupted time-series analysis and for a projection of total German suicides in 2022.

Results: For both sexes, a trend reversal from constant or declining suicide rates to an increase was observed. This increase is particularly pronounced in 2022 and mainly relates to the 60+ age group that is highly vulnerable to suicide. The projection of the overall German suicide rate is at a level last observed in 2015.

Conclusions: The key challenge now is to combat potential causes of this rise in suicide rates to avert the emerging upward trend.

Keywords: COVID-19; Germany; Pandemic; Suicide; Ukraine war.

MeSH terms

COVID-19*
Female
Germany / epidemiology
Humans
Male
Pandemics
Suicide*
Ukraine / epidemiology