Key Points

• Emergency Department Activity:

  • Emergency department visits for suicidal ideation, both in terms of numbers and as a proportion of total activity, were on the rise as early as 2020 (n=182), compared to the 2017–2019 period (n=112 visits per year); this trend intensified in 2021 (n=571) and in the first half of 2022 (n=590). The warning about the deterioration of the population’s mental health, the vigilance, and the measures implemented by the government and healthcare professionals following the first national lockdown may have improved the diagnosis and screening of these symptoms, partly explaining this increase. Analysis of the monthly distribution of data by year clearly shows that no seasonal trend appears to emerge.

  • Among those aged 11 and older, there is a downward trend in emergency department visits for suicidal acts in 2020 (n=5,958) and 2021 (n=6,259), compared to the 2017–2019 period (n=6,707 visits per year). Monthly activity shares over these same years do not appear to differ, except during the first two lockdowns, when an increase in activity was observed, likely linked to the general decline in activity and emergency department visits due to restrictive measures. Over the 2020–2021 period, more than 70% of emergency department visits for suicidal acts resulted in hospitalization, which remained similar to the 2017–2019 period.

• Hospitalizations for Suicide Attempts:

  • Between 2010 and 2019, an average of 7,056 hospitalizations for suicide attempts (SA) were recorded annually among people aged 10 and older. While the national hospitalization rate for SA, regardless of gender, has gradually declined over the years, the rate in the region has followed a different trend: among men, the rate declined between 2010 and 2013, stabilized between 2013 and 2016, then rose again between 2016 and 2018, stabilizing at high levels starting in 2018. Among women, the trend was the same, with a few fluctuations.

  • In 2020, the number of hospitalizations for suicide attempts decreased (n=6,666), with a marked decline during the first lockdown (March to May 2020) linked to the COVID-19 pandemic and a less pronounced decline during the second lockdown (October to December 2020).

  • In 2021, the figures appear to have returned to pre-lockdown levels (2017–2019), with an increase in the number of cases.

• Suicide mortality: In 2017, 736 people residing in the Grand Est region died by suicide, representing an age-standardized suicide mortality rate of 14.8 per 100,000 residents aged 10 and older, a rate similar to that of metropolitan France (14.4 per 100,000 residents). The majority (76.0%; n=558) of suicide deaths involved men: the suicide mortality rate of 23.4 per 100,000 men in the Grand Est region was roughly similar to the male rate in metropolitan France (22.5 per 100,000 men). Among women, the suicide mortality rate in 2017 remained close to the rate in metropolitan France (6.9 per 100,000 women).