Suicidality in children and adolescents: lessons to be learned from the COVID-19 crisis

Excerpt

Suicide is the second most prevalent cause of death worldwide overall and the third leading cause of death in 15–19-year-olds. The most frequent suicide method worldwide is hanging, followed by poisoning by pesticides for females and firearms for males [1]. For every suicide, there are many more people who attempt suicide every year. A prior suicide attempt is the single most important risk factor for suicide in the general population [2]. Mortality and sociodemographic factors data from the Swiss National Cohort (involving the whole Swiss resident population) indicated a clearly increasing suicide rate with increasing age, from none per 100,000 at age 10 years to 14.8 per 100,000 at 18 years in boys, and 5.4 per 100,000 in girls [3]. Other risk factors, apart from male sex, were living in a single parent household, being an only or middle-born child, and living in rural regions. Prevalence of suicide in children and adolescents was remarkably stable over the years 1991–2003, in contrast to a decreasing trend in adults [4]. …