The Impact of COVID-19 on Adolescent Suicide Deaths in the State of Maryland

Abstract

Abstract On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization officially declared the SARS-CoV-2 virus (COVID-19) a worldwide pandemic. As of December 2021, there have been over 278 million cases and 5.4 million deaths reported. One area of concern regarding the pandemic was its potential impact on mental health, and it was feared that the onset of such a devastating pandemic would lead to increased suicide risks among the general population. With suicide being a leading cause of death in adolescents, it is important to assess the potential mental health consequences that the COVID-19 pandemic may impose. Aim The aim of the study was to analyze the impact of COVID-19 on suicide deaths among adolescents in the state of Maryland from 2019 to 2021. Subjects and Methods This was a retrospective study of adolescent suicide victims, aged 10–19 years, from January 2019 to December 2021 in the state of Maryland. De-identified data were collected from the statewide medical examiner’s office which is responsible for the medicolegal death investigation in Maryland. Results A total of 102 adolescent suicide deaths were investigated statewide by the Maryland Office of the Chief Medical Examiner during these 3 years. The number of adolescent suicide cases stayed relatively stable during the COVID-19 pandemic, with slightly more cases during the pre-COVID-19 pandemic period (2019: n = 37; 2020: n = 31; and 2022: n = 34). Looking at months of incidence, less cases were reported in March–May 2020 (n = 5), which marks the beginning of the pandemic when compared to the same period in 2019 (n = 13). The number was higher for August–November 2020 (n = 15) than for that of 2019 (n = 8) and 2021 (n = 8). The male-to-female suicide ratio was 3.7:1 (n = 80/22). However, the data exhibited a significant increase in the number of female adolescent suicides, from 8.11% in 2019 (n = 3) to 25.81% in 2020 (n = 8) and 32.35% in 2021 (n = 11). Of the cases examined, more than 50% were white and approximately 27% were African-Americans. The two leading causes of death were hanging (47%) and firearm injuries (29%). Maryland consists of 23 countries and Baltimore City. The majority of adolescent suicides occurred in county residents with only 8.8% of cases in Baltimore City.