Suicide is the leading cause of death in young people and adolescents between 12 and 29 years of age in Spain and its number is increasing. This is clear from the Report on the Evolution of Suicide in Spain in the Child and Adolescent Population (2000-2021) directed by Alejandro de la Torre, principal investigator of the Research Group in Psychiatric Epidemiology and Mental Health of the Complutense University of Madrid and researchers of the Cibersam that has just seen the light.
According to the work, prepared with data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE), between 2019 and 2021 there was an increase of 32.35% in the number of suicides in adolescents (from 12 to 17 years old), going from 34 to 45 deaths from this cause.
Covid-19, however, is not primarily responsible for this increase, according to the report. Since 2018, in Spain there has been an increasing trend in the suicide mortality rate in all age groups.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has meant, in many ways, an important change at the level of mental health in Spain. The number of cases of suicide in the general population has increased, although in the population of young people and adolescents this impact has not been as significant, nor have changes been observed in comparisons by sex, nationality and place of residence,” the text states.
“The increasing trend seen in mortality from suicide in Spain since 2018 seems to also be the trend in adolescents,” De la Torre points out over the phone. “And that trend has been accentuated and accelerated with the pandemic”adds the researcher, who stresses that other studies have also shown a significant increase in the number of hospital visits for suicidal attempts and ideation.