Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Suicide Thoughts and Attempts in the Norwegian General Population During the Early Stage of the COVID-19 Outbreak

Tore Bonsaksen
* ORCID logo ,
Laila Skogstad
,
Trond Heir
ORCID logo ,
Øivind Ekeberg
,
Inger Schou-Bredal
,
Tine Grimholt
Version 1 : Received: 18 February 2021 / Approved: 19 February 2021 / Online: 19 February 2021 (09:56:01 CET)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Bonsaksen, T.; Skogstad, L.; Heir, T.; Ekeberg, Ø.; Schou-Bredal, I.; Grimholt, T.K. Suicide Thoughts and Attempts in the Norwegian General Population during the Early Stage of the COVID-19 Outbreak. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 4102. Bonsaksen, T.; Skogstad, L.; Heir, T.; Ekeberg, Ø.; Schou-Bredal, I.; Grimholt, T.K. Suicide Thoughts and Attempts in the Norwegian General Population during the Early Stage of the COVID-19 Outbreak. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 4102.

Abstract

The aim of the study was to examine the prevalence of suicide thoughts and -attempts during the early stage of the COVID-19 outbreak and examine factors associated with suicide thoughts in the general Norwegian population. A sample of 4527 adults living in Norway were recruited via social media. Data related to suicide thoughts and attempts, mental health variables, pandemic-related concerns and sociodemographic variables were collected. Associations with suicide thoughts were analyzed with logistic regression analysis. In the sample, 3.6 % reported suicide thoughts during the last month, while 0.2 % had attempted to commit suicide during the same period. Lower age (OR: 0.66, p < 0.001), daily alcohol use (OR: 3.29, p < 0.001), being in the risk group for COVID-19 complications (OR: 2.38, p < 0.01), and having economic concerns related to the pandemic (OR: 2.51, p < 0.001) were associated with having suicide thoughts. In addition to known risk factors, the study suggests that aspects specific to COVID-19 may be important for suicidal behaviors during the pandemic.

Keywords

coronavirus; pandemic; population survey; suicidal behavior; suicide

Subject

Medicine and Pharmacology, Immunology and Allergy

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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