Key Points

• Emergency department activity: on the rise among 11- to 24-year-olds during the acute phase of the health crisis

  • The number of emergency department visits for suicidal ideation, as well as the proportion of such cases, increased significantly across all age groups, regardless of gender, during the 2020–2021 period compared to the pre-pandemic period, and particularly among 11- to 24-year-olds, where it increased by a factor of 2.2.

  • For the “suicidal act” indicator, the incidence rate among men decreased significantly from 2017–2019 to 2020–2021 (6.44‰ and 5.81‰, respectively), while it remained stable among women. The trend was upward during this period only among those aged 11–24, and emergency department visits were more common in this age group than among older individuals.

  • Among young people, a sharp increase in emergency department visits for suicidal ideation and suicide attempts was recorded among 11- to 17-year-olds during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic (2020–2021) compared to the pre-pandemic period (2017–2019). The increase was more pronounced among young girls, with the proportion of visits for suicidal ideation increasing by a factor of 2.5.

  • In 2021, the region recorded the highest proportion of emergency department visits for suicide attempts relative to total activity in France, alongside the Brittany region (7.4‰ in both regions), exceeding the national average (5.6‰). At the subregional level, the highest proportions were observed in the departments of the Somme (10.6‰) and the Nord (7.6‰).

• Hospitalizations for suicide attempts: highest rate in France in 2021, particularly in the Nord and Somme

  • While a decline in the regional hospitalization rate was observed from 2010 to 2013, the rate remained stable thereafter until 2016. Since 2017, the trend has been upward, with rates reaching 313.1 per 100,000 inhabitants among women and 250.5 per 100,000 inhabitants among men in 2019. During the pandemic, this rate continued to rise.

  • In 2021, the highest hospitalization rate for suicide attempts in France was observed in Hauts-de-France (268.1 per 100,000 inhabitants). The departments of Nord and Somme had rates higher than the regional average (298.4 and 388.5 per 100,000 inhabitants, respectively), with a higher prevalence among women.

  • The most common method of suicide attempt was drug overdose, accounting for nearly 4 out of 5 hospitalizations, regardless of gender.

  • The regional in-hospital mortality rate (8.9 deaths per 1,000 hospitalizations) was lower than that observed in mainland France (11.9 per 1,000). It increased sharply with age and more so among men than among women

• Suicide mortality: a downward trend for both men and women between 2000 and 2017, similar to other French regions

  • From 2000 to 2017, the age-standardized suicide mortality rate among those aged 10 and older decreased, with a more pronounced decline among men than among women. However, the rate among men remained significantly higher than that recorded among women during this period. In 2017, suicide deaths were nearly three times more common among men than among women.

  • Those aged 75 and older had a higher crude mortality rate than those in the 2000–2016 period, with the gap narrowing in 2017 when their rate matched that of those aged 45–64. The lowest suicide mortality rate was recorded among the youngest age group (10–29 years) during this period.

  • The suicide mortality rate in 2017 was 17.2%, with three departments exceeding the regional rate: Aisne (18.5%), Pas-de-Calais (20.8%), and Somme (23.8%). Across all departments in the region, the suicide mortality rate was higher among men.

  • As at the national level, the most common method of suicide recorded in Hauts-de-France was hanging, regardless of gender.