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Multicenter Study
. 2022 May:149:10-17.
doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2022.02.009. Epub 2022 Feb 17.

Four-month incidence of suicidal thoughts and behaviors among healthcare workers after the first wave of the Spain COVID-19 pandemic

P Mortier  1 , G Vilagut  2 , I Alayo  2 , M Ferrer  3 , F Amigo  2 , E Aragonès  4 , A Aragón-Peña  5 , A Asúnsolo Del Barco  6 , M Campos  7 , M Espuga  8 , A González-Pinto  9 , J M Haro  10 , N López Fresneña  11 , A Martínez de Salázar  12 , J D Molina  13 , R M Ortí-Lucas  14 , M Parellada  15 , J M Pelayo-Terán  16 , B Pérez-Gómez  17 , A Pérez-Zapata  18 , J I Pijoan  19 , N Plana  20 , E Polentinos-Castro  21 , A Portillo-Van Diest  2 , M T Puig  22 , C Rius  23 , F Sanz  24 , C Serra  25 , I Urreta-Barallobre  26 , R C Kessler  27 , R Bruffaerts  28 , E Vieta  29 , V Pérez-Solá  30 , J Alonso  3 ; MINDCOVID Working group
Collaborators, Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Four-month incidence of suicidal thoughts and behaviors among healthcare workers after the first wave of the Spain COVID-19 pandemic

P Mortier et al. J Psychiatr Res. 2022 May.

Abstract

Healthcare workers (HCW) are at high risk for suicide, yet little is known about the onset of suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STB) in this important segment of the population in conjunction with the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted a multicenter, prospective cohort study of Spanish HCW active during the COVID-9 pandemic. A total of n = 4809 HCW participated at baseline (May-September 2020; i.e., just after the first wave of the pandemic) and at a four-month follow-up assessment (October-December 2020) using web-based surveys. Logistic regression assessed the individual- and population-level associations of separate proximal (pandemic) risk factors with four-month STB incidence (i.e., 30-day STB among HCW negative for 30-day STB at baseline), each time adjusting for distal (pre-pandemic) factors. STB incidence was estimated at 4.2% (SE = 0.5; n = 1 suicide attempt). Adjusted for distal factors, proximal risk factors most strongly associated with STB incidence were various sources of interpersonal stress (scaled 0-4; odds ratio [OR] range = 1.23-1.57) followed by personal health-related stress and stress related to the health of loved ones (scaled 0-4; OR range 1.30-1.32), and the perceived lack of healthcare center preparedness (scaled 0-4; OR = 1.34). Population-attributable risk proportions for these proximal risk factors were in the range 45.3-57.6%. Other significant risk factors were financial stressors (OR range 1.26-1.81), isolation/quarantine due to COVID-19 (OR = 1.53) and having changed to a specific COVID-19 related work location (OR = 1.72). Among other interventions, our findings call for healthcare systems to implement adequate conflict communication and resolution strategies and to improve family-work balance embedded in organizational justice strategies.

Keywords: COVID-19; Epidemiology; Healthcare workers; Incidence; Risk factors; Spain; Suicide.

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Conflict of interest statement

EA reports personal fees from Lündbeck, Esteve, Schwabe and Roche. EV reports personal fees from Abbott, Allergan, Angelini, Lundbeck, Sage and Sanofi, grants from Novartis and Ferrer, and grants and personal fees from Janssen, outside the submitted work. JDM reports personal fees from Janssen and Angelini, personal fees and non-financial support from Otsuka, Lundbeck and Accord, outside the submitted work. JMPT reports personal fees from Angelini, Janssen and Lunbeck, and grants from Janssen, outside the submitted work. RCK was a consultant for Datastat, Inc., Holmusk, RallyPoint Networks,Inc., and Sage Therapeutics. All other authors reported no conflict of interest.

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