Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2021 Feb 1;4(2):e2037378.
doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.37378.

Assessment of Suicide in Japan During the COVID-19 Pandemic vs Previous Years

Haruka Sakamoto  1   2 , Masahiro Ishikane  3 , Cyrus Ghaznavi  2   4 , Peter Ueda  2   5
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Assessment of Suicide in Japan During the COVID-19 Pandemic vs Previous Years

Haruka Sakamoto et al. JAMA Netw Open. .

Abstract

Importance: There are concerns that suicide rates may have increased during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Objective: To assess whether suicide rates in Japan increased in April through November 2020 compared with previous years.

Design, setting, and participants: This cross-sectional study used national data obtained from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare from 2016 to 2020 on the monthly number of individuals who died of suicide in Japan from January to November of 2016 to 2020.

Exposure: 2020 vs previous years.

Main outcomes and measures: The main outcome was monthly suicide rates, calculated as the number of individuals who died of suicide divided by the total population. A difference-in-difference regression model was used to estimate the change in monthly suicide rates in April to November 2020 vs these months in 2016 to 2019.

Results: Analyses included 90 048 individuals (61 366 [68.1%] men) who died of suicide from 2016 to 2020. The difference-in-difference analysis of men showed that there was no increase in suicide rates from April through September 2020 compared with these months in 2016 to 2019, but that suicide rates were increased in October (difference-in-difference, 0.40 [95% CI, 0.14 to 0.67] suicide deaths per 100 000 population) and November (difference-in-difference, 0.34 [95% CI, 0.07 to 0.60] suicide deaths per 100 000 population). Among women, suicide rates in 2020 compared with 2016 to 2019 increased in July (difference-in-difference, 0.24 [95% CI, 0.09 to 0.38] suicide deaths per 100 000 population), August (difference-in-difference, 0.30 [95% CI, 0.16 to 0.45] suicide deaths per 100 000 population), September (difference-in-difference, 0.29 [95% CI, 0.15 to 0.44] suicide deaths per 100 000 population), October (difference-in-difference, 0.62 [95% CI, 0.48 to 0.77] suicide deaths per 100 000 population), and November (difference-in-difference, 0.29 [95% CI, 0.15 to 0.44] suicide deaths per 100 000 population). In secondary analyses in which the suicide rates of 2020 were compared with the expected rates based on trends from 2011 to 2019, the increases in suicide rates were most pronounced among men aged younger than 30 years (eg, November: observed vs expected rate ratio [RR], 1.48 [95% CI, 1.26-1.71]) and women aged younger than 30 years (eg, October: observed vs expected RR, 2.14 [95% CI, 1.76 to 2.52]) and 30 to 49 years (eg, October: observed vs expected RR, 2.30 [95% CI, 2.01 to 2.58]).

Conclusions and relevance: These findings suggest that compared with previous years, suicide rates in Japan in 2020 increased in October and November for men and in July through November for women.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: None reported.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. Monthly Suicide Rates in January to November in Japan in 2016-2020 by Age
Figure 2.
Figure 2.. Observed and Expected Monthly Suicide Rates in Japan from January to November 2020 by Age
Shaded areas indicate 95% CIs for expected suicide rates.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Gunnell D, Appleby L, Arensman E, et al. ; COVID-19 Suicide Prevention Research Collaboration . Suicide risk and prevention during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lancet Psychiatry. 2020;7(6):468-471. doi:10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30171-1 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Reger MA, Stanley IH, Joiner TE. Suicide mortality and coronavirus disease 2019—a perfect storm? JAMA Psychiatry. 2020;(April). doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2020.1060 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Kawohl W, Nordt C. COVID-19, unemployment, and suicide. Lancet Psychiatry. 2020;7(5):389-390. doi:10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30141-3 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. John A, Pirkis J, Gunnell D, Appleby L, Morrissey J. Trends in suicide during the COVID-19 pandemic. BMJ. 2020;371:m4352. doi:10.1136/bmj.m4352 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Nomura S, Kawashima T, Yoneoka D, et al. . Trends in suicide in Japan by gender during the COVID-19 pandemic, up to September 2020. Psychiatry Res. 2020;295:113622. doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113622 - DOI - PubMed

Publication types