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. 2023 Apr:12:100510.
doi: 10.1016/j.jadr.2023.100510. Epub 2023 Feb 23.

Suicide and homicide before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Milan, Italy

Raffaella Calati  1   2 , Guendalina Gentile  3 , Michele Fornaro  4 , Fabio Madeddu  1 , Stefano Tambuzzi  3 , Riccardo Zoja  3
Affiliations

Suicide and homicide before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Milan, Italy

Raffaella Calati et al. J Affect Disord Rep. 2023 Apr.

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has been postulated to account for inflated rates of either suicides or homicides. Nonetheless, results are discordant, in particular concerning suicide. We aimed to perform a retrospective analysis of suicides and homicides in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy (districts of Milan and Monza Brianza), the Italian region most seriously impacted by the pandemic outbreak.

Methods: Data were collected during the autopsies performed at the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Milan. We presented suicides and homicides in the years 2015-2021 and compared the year 2021 to 2019, a pre-COVID-19 year.

Results: Data may allow us to cautiously hypothesize a normalization of trends ("regression" to the mean effect) as time passes from the COVID-19 outbreak.

Limitations: Limited number of events, in particular, homicides.

Conclusions: Recording historical reports from the same region is warranted besides the comparisons across different countries.

Keywords: COVID-19; Homicide; Italy; Suicide.

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Conflict of interest statement

None.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig. 1
Suicides in the district of Milan in 2015–2021 in males and females.
Fig 2
Fig. 2
Homicides in the district of Milan in 2015–2021 in males and females.
Fig 3
Fig. 3
Suicides in the district of Milan in 2019 and 2021 among males, females, and any sex category, across different age groups.
Fig 4
Fig. 4
Homicides in the district of Milan in 2019 and 2021 among males, females, and any sex category, across different age groups.
Fig 5
Fig. 5
Suicides and homicides in the district of Milan in 2019 and 2021 across different age groups.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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