Excess suicides in Japan: A three-year post-pandemic assessment of gender and age disparities

Haruka Sakamoto; Masahide Koda; Akifumi Eguchi; Kaori Endo; Takahiro Arai; Nahoko Harada; Takashi Nishio; Shuhei Nomura

doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2024.115806

Excess suicides in Japan: A three-year post-pandemic assessment of gender and age disparities

Psychiatry Res. 2024 Apr:334:115806. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2024.115806. Epub 2024 Feb 18.

Authors

Haruka Sakamoto¹, Masahide Koda², Akifumi Eguchi³, Kaori Endo⁴, Takahiro Arai⁵, Nahoko Harada⁶, Takashi Nishio⁷, Shuhei Nomura⁸

Affiliations

¹ Japan Suicide Countermeasures Promotion Center, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Hygiene and Public Health, Tokyo Women's Medical University, Tokyo, Japan; Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research, Tokyo, Japan; Health and Global Policy Institute, Tokyo, Japan.
² Co-Learning Community Healthcare Re-Innovation Office, Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University, Okayama, Japan.
³ Center for Preventive Medical Sciences, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan.
⁴ Japan Suicide Countermeasures Promotion Center, Tokyo, Japan.
⁵ Japan Suicide Countermeasures Promotion Center, Tokyo, Japan; Graduate School of Health Management, Keio University, Kanagawa, Japan.
⁶ Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering in Health Systems, Okayama University, Okayama, Japan.
⁷ Japan Suicide Countermeasures Promotion Center, Tokyo, Japan; International Christian University, Tokyo, Japan.
⁸ Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Medicine, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Global Health Policy, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan. Electronic address: s-nomura@keio.jp.

PMID: 38428289
DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2024.115806

Abstract

This study offers an in-depth analysis of Japan's suicide trends three years after the COVID-19 outbreak. Using data from the National Police Agency (January 2010-May 2023), we examined suicide rates across genders and age groups. Employing the quasi-Poisson regression, we predicted monthly death counts. Findings indicate a steady rise in female suicides from April 2020 to January 2023. Notably, male cohorts aged 50-59 and over 80 in 2022 displayed heightened death rates. While these trends may reflect the impacts of the pandemic, it is essential to consider other factors, including socio-economic changes, to fully understand the context of Japan's suicide patterns.

Keywords: COVID-19; Japan; Suicide.

MeSH terms

COVID-19*
Disease Outbreaks
Female
Humans
Japan / epidemiology
Male
Pandemics
Suicide*