Characteristics of longitudinal studies using patients sample examining Covid-19 and suicide in subjects with pre‐existing mental health conditions (n = 4) | ||||||||||
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Authors, year | Title | Location of study | Sample size | Nature of sample | Age range of the sample and gender | Purpose/aim of the study | Suicide assessment measures | Type of publishing | Time points compared/analyzed in the study | Principal findings |
Rømer et al. 2021 | Psychiatric Admissions, Referrals, and Suicidal Behavior Before and During the COVID‐19 Pandemic in Denmark: A Time‐Trend Study | Denmark, Capital Region of Denmark and Region Zealand | 2,693,924 health records | Health records from hospitals and Emergency Medical Services. With regard to suicide attempts, self-harm episodes and suicides registered at hospitals in The Capital Region of Denmark and Region Zealand between 2019–2021 subjects with pre-existing mental disorders were: 829 in 2019 (76.8%); 770 in 2020 (76.3%); 224 in 2021 (83.3%) | Age range of the sample with pre-existing mental disorder: in 2019: between 0–17: 262, between 18–29: 238, > 30: 355; in 2020: between 0–17: 247, between 18–29: 221, > 30: 344; in 2021 (Jan–Feb) between 0–17: 108, between 18–29: 54, > 30: 63; female in 2019: 676 (62.6%), female in 2020: 648 (64.2%), female in 2021 (Jan–Feb) 190 (70.6%) | To assess the patterns in psychiatric admissions, referrals, and suicidal behavior before and during the COVID‐19 pandemic | Diagnoses in the electronic health records (EHRs)—including codes for suicide and self‐harm—defined and coded according to the ICD‐10 system by the responsible clinicians | Population‐based study, Longitudinal study | From January 1, 2016 to February 28, 2021. Regarding pandemic during the first lockdown (March 11, 2020 – May 17, 2020), the inter‐lockdown period (May 18, 2020–December 15, 2020), and the second lockdown (December 16, 2020 –February 28, 2021) | Most patients exhibiting suicidal behavior had pre‐existing mental disorders. The hospital‐registered rate of suicidal behavior events during the pandemic did not change significantly compared to the pre‐pandemic period; nor did it change during the first lockdown, the inter‐lockdown period or second lockdown. This pattern was observed for all people with pre-existing mental disorder. Moreover, trend in hospital‐recorded suicidal behavior during the pandemic as a whole showed a relative decline compared with the pre‐pandemic trend among patients with pre‐existing mental disorders. In particular, the relative change in rate ratio regarding suicidal behavior during the pandemic vs. pre-pandemic shows a statistically significant decrease in subjects with mood disorder and neurotic, stress-related and somatoform disorders |
Khosravani et al. 2021 | The associations of obsessive–compulsive symptom dimensions and general severity with suicidal ideation in patients with obsessive–compulsive disorder: The role of specific stress responses to COVID-19 | Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Teheran, Iran | 390 OCD patients | Patients referred for treatment of a primary OCD diagnosis. Common comorbid disorders were major depressive disorder (MDD), bipolar disorder (BD), various anxiety disorders, and substance use disorders (SUDs) | Mean age of the sample: 35.8 years; 126 males, 178 females | To examine the effects of obsessive–compulsive (OC) symptom dimensions and OCD severity on suicidal ideation by considering the role of stress responses in reaction to COVID‐19 in a clinical sample of patients with OCD | Suicide risk assessed using Beck Scale for Suicidal Ideation (BSSI) | Longitudinal study | Between 5 June to 30 October 2020 | The obsessive–compulsive symptom dimensions of responsibility for harm and unacceptable obsessional thoughts as well as general severity had indirect effects on suicidal ideation through the specific stress responses to COVID-19, including traumatic stress and compulsive checking. The study shows that OCD patients with specific obsessive–compulsive symptom dimensions and severe OCD are more likely to have suicidal ideation during the pandemic |
Alonso et al. 2021 | How is COVID-19 affecting patients with obsessive–compulsive disorder? A longitudinal study on the initial phase of the pandemic in a Spanish cohort | Hospital de Bellvitge, Barcelona, Spain | 364; 127 OCD patients, 237 controls | Participants from the general population recruited through social networks, using a snowball method Adult outpatients who had been attending the specialist for at least one year before March 2020 | Mean age of the sample: 42.0 years OCD patients; 40.8 years controls | To evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on a sample of patients with OCD at the initial stage of the health crisis, assessing not only changes in OCD severity, but also in pre-existing conditions, newly developed conditions, treatment, use of mental health resources, development of obsessive fears of SARS-CoV-2 contamination, and use of emotional regulation and stress coping strategies | Suicidal ideation assessed according to the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS; item on suicide) | Naturalistic cohort study, Longitudinal study | From April 27 to May 25, 2020 | Suicide-related thoughts were more frequent among the OCD cohort than among healthy controls. The current crisis constitutes a risk factor for a significant worsening of symptoms and suicidal ideation |
Na et al. 2021 | Prevalence, risk and protective factors associated with suicidal ideation during the COVID-19 pandemic in U.S. military veterans with pre-existing psychiatric conditions | USA | 661 veterans | Data analyzed from the National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study, which surveyed a nationally representative cohort of U.S. veterans Veterans screened positive for major depressive disorder (MDD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and/or substance use disorder (SUD) at the pre-pandemic assessment | Mean age of the sample: 55.2 years; 86.8%, male | To examine pre-pandemic, COVID-related, and changes in risk and protective factors associated with peri-pandemic suicidal ideation. To evaluate interactions between SARS-CoV2 infection and age, and significant protective factors, in predicting suicide ideation in the examined population | Suicidal ideation assessed using Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) | Prospective, Longitudinal survey cohort, Longitudinal study | Pre-pandemic survey: until 11/21/2019 peripandemic survey: until 11/14/2020 | Those who were infected with SARS-CoV 2 and aged 45 or older or who reported lower purpose in life may be at the highest risk of suicide and may deserve close clinical attention and monitoring |