aracterização Epidemiológica de Óbitos e Internações por Tentativas de Suicídio no Brasil Durante a Pandemia da COVID-19

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: With the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic, suicide trends showed higher rates. Studies show that the pandemic has increased the risk factors, which are confident for the increase in suicide rates in Brazil and in the world. OBJECTIVE: to describe the epidemiological characteristics of deaths by suicide in Brazil that occurred between January 2020 and June 2022. METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional, quantitative study was carried out on cases of deaths by suicide in Brazil. Data were collected on the website of the Department of Informatics of the Unified Health System (DATASUS). RESULTS: During the period from January 2020 to June 2022, a total of 22,882 hospitalizations for suicide attempts were recorded in Brazil, with females being the most affected (51%). In this same period, a total of 995 deaths by suicide in Brazil, with 618 cases in males (62.1%). The State with the highest death rate in São Paulo, with a total of 410 deaths. However, the mortality rate was higher in the Northeast region (6.05/100,000 deaths in 2021). The state with the highest suicide mortality rate was Paraíba (9.31/100,000 deaths). The main form of suicide attempt was self-intoxication through intentional exposure, such as other drugs, medications and biological substances, with a total of 285 records (28.6%). CONCLUSION: The findings of this research underscore the importance of broadening discussions about the topic of Suicide in the context of Brazilian health, especially in situations of greater vulnerability, such as when facing pandemics. The adoption of preventive measures tends to be urgent and necessary to reduce suicide cases.