shot-button
Maharashtra Elections 2024 Maharashtra Elections 2024
Home > Lifestyle News > Health And Fitness News > Article > Covid 19 lockdown led to suicidal thoughts among people Study

Covid-19 lockdown led to suicidal thoughts among people: Study

Updated on: 10 August,2022 12:07 PM IST  |  Mumbai
IANS |

During the lockdown, loss of social contacts and employment, economic worries, fear of illness, feelings of isolation and reduced access to psychiatric treatment acted as stressors that could exacerbate a mental illness

Covid-19 lockdown led to suicidal thoughts among people: Study

Representative Image: iStock

The lockdowns during the Covid-19 pandemic had a significant effect on levels of suicidal ideation, says a new study published in the journal Open Medicine.


The study indicated suicidal ideation, which involves someone thinking about or wishing for their own death, significantly increased in the 2020 post-lockdown patients compared with the 2018 and 2019 patients.


"Suicide prevention in the Covid-19 era is an important and difficult issue," the authors, including lead author Suzana Tosic Golubovic of the University of Nis in Serbia, stated. "Further research studies are needed to find out how mental health consequences can be mitigated during and after the Covid-19 pandemic," they added.


During the lockdown, loss of social contacts and employment, economic worries, fear of illness, feelings of isolation and reduced access to psychiatric treatment acted as stressors that could exacerbate a mental illness or even prompt such illness in previously healthy individuals. For the study, published in the journal Open Medicine, the team examined patient records in a psychiatric clinic in Serbia and asked patients about their experience of the pandemic.

The researchers investigated patients who were admitted to the clinic between May and August 2020, which was just after Serbia had come out of a lockdown. They then compared these patients with patients admitted during the same months in 2018 and 2019. Suicide attempts also increased in the 2020 patients, although this trend was not statistically significant. The 2020 patients also showed higher levels of adjustment disorder, in which patients have difficulty adjusting to a stressful situation or event in their life.

Patients who had attempted suicide in 2020 were more likely to be exposed to information about the pandemic on social media and were more likely to present with adjustment disorder and major depressive disorder. Strikingly, 60 per cent of the patients who had attempted suicide in 2020 had never received psychiatric treatment before, which was a significantly higher proportion than in the patients who attempted suicide in 2019.

Also read: Why exclusive breastfeeding is still difficult for many mothers

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!

Register for FREE
to continue reading !

This is not a paywall.
However, your registration helps us understand your preferences better and enables us to provide insightful and credible journalism for all our readers.

Mid-Day Web Stories

Mid-Day Web Stories

This website uses cookie or similar technologies, to enhance your browsing experience and provide personalised recommendations. By continuing to use our website, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy. OK