Trends in online searching toward suicide pre-, during, and post the first wave of Covid-19 outbreak in China

Bibliographic Data

ID15522257
AuthorsHongguang Chen (0000-0001-6716-5393, Peking University), Konglai Zhang (Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College), Hui Li (0000-0001-9355-1116, Nanchang University), Mengqian Li (0000-0001-5305-8554, First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University), Shunfei Li (Chinese PLA General Hospital, corresponding author)
Year2022
Volume13
Pages947765-947765
Publication date2022-07-25
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueFrontiers in Psychiatry (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1664-0640 • E-ISSN: 1664-0640
PublisherFrontiers Media (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3389/fpsyt.2022.947765
PMID35958640
OpenAlexW4287147527
LanguageEN
References cited28

COVID-19 may increase the risk of suicide, but the conclusion is still unclear. This study was designed to assess the impact of COVID-19 on suicide pre-, during, and post the first wave of COVID-19 in China. It was reported that online public searching was associated with their offline thoughts and behaviors. Therefore, this study was designed to explore the online search for suicide pre-, during, and post-COVID-19 in China. The keywords on suicide, COVID-19, unemployment, and depression were collected in 2019 and 2020 using the Baidu Search Index (BSI). A time-series analysis examined the dynamic correlations between BSI-COVID-19 and BSI-suicide. A generalized estimating equation model was used to calculate the coefficients of variables associated with the BSI-suicide. The BSI-suicide showed a significant increase (15.6%, p = 0.006) from the 5th to 9th week, which was also the point of the first wave of the COVID-19 outbreak. A time-series analysis between BSI-suicide and BSI-COVID-19 showed that the strongest correlation occurred at lag 1+ and lag 2+ week. In the pre-COVID-19 model, only BSI-depression was highly associated with BSI-suicide (β = 1.38, p = 0.008). During the COVID-19 model, BSI-depression (β = 1.77, p = 0.040) and BSI-COVID-19 (β = 0.03, p p = 0.010) was still highly associated with BSI-suicide. Meanwhile, BSI-unemployment (β = 1.67, p = 0.007) appeared to be linked to BSI-suicide for the first time. There was a surge in suicide-related online searching during the early stage of the first wave of the COVID-19 outbreak. Online suicide search volume peaked 1-2 weeks after the COVID-19 peak. The BSI of factors associated with suicide varied at different stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings in this study are preliminary and further research is needed to arrive at evidence of causality

China · Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19 · Depression (economics · Geography · Medical emergency · Outbreak · Poison control · Psychiatry · Sociology · Suicide attempt · Suicide prevention · Unemployment · COVID-19 and Mental Health · Demography · Medicine · Mental Health Treatment and Access · Psychology · Suicide and Self-Harm Studies · Internal Medicine · Virology