Pediatric Suspected Suicides and Nonfatal Suicide Attempts Reported to United States Poison Control Centers Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Introduction: This study investigated the characteristics and compared the trends of pediatric suspected suicide and nonfatal suicide attempts reported to United States (US) poison control centers (PCCs) before and during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: An interrupted time series analysis using an ARIMA model was conducted to evaluate the trends of suspected suicides and nonfatal suicide attempts among children 6–19 years old reported to the National Poison Data System during March 2020 through February 2021 (pandemic period) compared with March 2017 through February 2020 (pre-pandemic period). Results: The annual number of cases of suspected suicides and nonfatal suicide attempts increased by 4.5% (6095/136,194) among children 6–19 years old during March 2020 through February 2021 compared with the average annual number during the previous three pre-pandemic years. There were 11,876 fewer cases than expected from March 2020 to February 2021, attributable to a decrease in cases during the initial three pandemic months. The average monthly and average daily number of suspected suicides and nonfatal suicide attempts among children 6–12 years old and 13–19 years old was higher during school months than non-school months and weekdays than weekends during both the pre-pandemic and pandemic periods. Conclusions: There was a greater than expected decrease in the number of suspected suicides and nonfatal suicide attempts among children 6–19 years old reported to US PCCs during the early pandemic months, followed by an increase in cases. Recognizing these patterns can help guide an appropriate public health response to similar future crises.