Data indicates no rise in suicides during early lockdown

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Initial data from the National Self-Harm Registry indicates a 25% fall in the number of people attending hospitals because of self-harm in April, with the National Suicide Research Foundation adding that preliminary data also indicates no rise in suicides.

Speaking during a webinar organised by the NSRF, Dr Paul Corcoran presented data which he said showed no evidence of an increase in hospital presentations of self-harm in March or April — the period of initial lockdown due to Covid-19 — and that attendances fell by 25% in April, mainly due to fewer attendances by women and young people.

There had been fears, both here and internationally, that suicide and self-harm rates could increase as a result of the pandemic and associated restrictions. Fears over mental health are still regularly referenced by senior personnel within health services.

However, the early data indicates that at least for the onset of the pandemic, there was no spike in either suicides or self-harm, albeit the reduction in presentations was in the context of a significant fall in overall presentations to hospitals — there was a 30% drop in the number of total presentations in March, and a 40% drop in April.

Ella Arensman, chief scientist at the NSRF, said the organisation had also been logging localised data for Cork City and county regarding suicides, and while not yet complete, the indications were that there had not been a surge in suicides in those months.

"For Cork county, there has not been an increase in suspected suicide cases in March and April compared to the same period in 2019," she said. "This obviously represents the first phase of Covid-19 and lockdown, and ongoing monitoring to assess long-term impacts is a priority."

Prof Arensman and colleagues were also involved in international research, taking in 28 independent studies covering a total of 33,345 individuals from around the world.

"It concludes that internationally, so far, there is no clear evidence of an increase in suicide, self-harm, suicidal behaviour, or suicidal thoughts associated with the pandemic," she said. "However, suicide data is challenging to collect in real time.

"In addition, studies that have used modelling approaches to forecast the potential impact of the pandemic on future suicide rates are largely based on predicted unemployment rates as a result of a post-pandemic recession, due to measures to control the spread of the virus impacting on businesses. These models suggest between a 1% rise [globally] and a 145% rise [in Switzerland] in suicide deaths."

Meanwhile, the outgoing president of the Coroners Society of Ireland has said that, in her view, claims made on social media about a surge in the number of suicides "is not grounded in fact".

Mary Flanagan hands over the presidency of the organisation this weekend and is also coroner for Cavan and south Monaghan.

She made her comments amid regular social media posts outlining claims of a serious rise in suicides in different parts of the country.

Dr Flanagan said she could not speak for her colleagues, but said: "In my experience, and I am only dealing with Cavan/south Monaghan, I can say there has not been a suicide epidemic.

"I would say it [the number] is stable for the past six months."

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