Suicidality in children and adolescents – risk factors and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

Czech version

Authors: Vatrál Martin; Trebatická Jana
Authors‘ workplace: Klinika detskej psychiatrie Lekárskej fakulty Univerzity Komenského a Národného ústavu detských chorôb, Bratislava
Published in: Čes-slov Pediat 2022; 77 (3): 137-142.
Category: Comprehensive Report

Overview

Suicidal behaviour in children and adolescents is a serious issue with growing prevalence. Death as a result of a completed suicide is one of the most common causes of death in young people ages 15 to 19. There are some known risk factors associated with activation of a suicidal process. These can be divided into three categories – biological, psychological and social risk factors. Depressive disorder in an important predictor of suicidal behaviour in children and adolescents, as well as personal history of previous suicide attempts, self-injurious behaviour, family conflicts, and traumatic experiences. Biological risk factors are also a subject of ongoing research, including the dysregulation of kynurenine pathway of tryptophan metabolism and the dysregulation of hypothalamic–pituitary– adrenal axis. Suicidal behaviour in children and adolescents has also been influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, which in a special way affected people worldwide. Researchers from the USA report a significant increase in emergency department visits of children and adolescents after suicide attempts. In Catalonia, Spain, there has been evidence of 25% increase in suicide attempts per year in adolescents ages 12 to 18 between the year before and the year during the pandemic. Both of these countries reported a more severe impact of the pandemic on suicidality in adolescent girls compared to boys – there has been no significant change in prevalence of suicide attempts in adolescent boys.

Keywords:

suicide – Adolescents – risk factors – children – self-harm – suicidality – suicidal behaviour – pedopsychiatry

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