Invited Commentary: Reckoning With the Relationship Between Stressors and Suicide Attempts in a Time of COVID-19. Issue 11 (22nd July 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ettman, Catherine K; Gradus, Jaimie L; Galea, Sandro
• Is Part Of: American journal of epidemiology. Volume 189:Issue 11(2020)
• Page Start: 1275
• Page End: 1277
• Publication Date: 2020-07-22
• Subjects: economic recession -- financial stressors -- mental health -- suicide -- trauma -- unemployment; Epidemiology -- Periodicals; Public health -- Periodicals; 614.4
• DOI: 10.1093/aje/kwaa147
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0002-9262

Abstract

Abstract: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic presents a unique set of risk exposures for populations, which might lead to an increase in suicide. While large-scale traumatic events are known to increase psychological disorders, thus far the science has not shown a clear link between these events and suicide. In this issue of the Journal, Elbogen et al. ( Am J Epidemiol . 2020;189(11):1266–1274) used representative data from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) to show that 4 dimensions of financial strain—financial debt/crisis, unemployment, past homelessness, and lower income—are associated with subsequent suicide attempts. There are 3 main lessons we can take from Elbogen et al.: First, with populations facing record-breaking unemployment, economic recession, and reduced wages, we can anticipate an increase in suicide in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Second, these data show the centrality of financial stressors, marking the current moment as distinct from other disasters or large-scale trauma. Third, the data teach us that financial stressors are linked and cumulative. In this way, Elbogen et al. provide a sobering harbinger of the potential effects on suicide of the collective stressors borne by the COVID-19 pandemic and other mass traumatic events that are accompanied by substantial financial stressors.