Abstract
Suicide is a major public health issue worldwide, with about 880,000 dying annually for such a cause. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to severe social disruption both from health and economic standpoints. Law enforcement personnel have been significantly involved in helping to face the many difficulties due to the pandemic. Police officers have been subjected to further stress from managing social restrictions imposed by governments to contain the pandemic. The Italian State Police steadily approximate 100,000 people aged 25–65 years: 14 subjects (mean age 43.64 years) died by suicide in 2015, 7 (mean age 47.5 years) in 2016, 13 (mean age 45.62 years) in 2017, 10 (mean age 48.1 years) in 2018, 18 (mean age 46.78 years) in 2019, and 12 (mean age 52 years) in 2020. Our records excluded significant changes in suicide incidence rate within 2015–2020 (till December 2020). However, the COVID-19 pandemic spread faster in Italy than in other regions, meaning that the Italian State Police possibly faced prolonged, intense stress. Suicide prevention, therefore, remains a priority, especially during this difficult time.
Highlights
Suicide is a major public health issue worldwide, with about 880,000 dying annually for such a cause
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to severe social disruption from health and economic standpoints and increased prevalence of depression symptoms, assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire–9, in the US adults more than threefold 8.5% before COVID-19 to 27.8% during COVID-19 [1]
Several reports indicated the need to be vigilant during the worldwide health emergency for a possible increase in mental health problems [2] and suicide deaths [3, 4]
Summary
Background Suicide is a major public health issue worldwide, with about 880,000 dying annually for such a cause. Several reports indicated the need to be vigilant during the worldwide health emergency for a possible increase in mental health problems [2] and suicide deaths [3, 4]. *Correspondence: sgarbarino.neuro@gmail.com 2 Department of Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics and Maternal/Child Sciences (DINOGMI), University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy Full list of author information is available at the end of the article explore if suicide rates among police officers changed as a result of the pandemic.
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