Key Points

• Emergency Department Activity:

  • The number of emergency department visits for suicidal ideation, as well as the proportion of such visits, increased significantly across all age groups, regardless of gender, during the 2020–2021 period compared to the pre-pandemic 2017–2019 period, particularly among those aged 11–24, where the proportion of such visits tripled.

  • The average monthly number of emergency department visits for suicide attempts in 2021 was higher than those observed in 2020 and during the 2017–2019 period. The average monthly share of activity in 2021 was similar to that of 2020.

  • Visits to emergency departments for suicide attempts increased significantly among those aged 11–24, while they remained generally stable among those aged 25–64 and those aged 65 and older during the 2020–2021 period compared to the 2017–2019 period. For both genders, a significant increase in the proportion of cases involving suicidal acts was observed between the two periods under consideration.

• Hospitalizations for suicide attempts:

  • In 2019, the age-standardized regional hospitalization rate for suicide attempts was below the national metropolitan rate (125.6 per 100,000 residents aged 10 and older vs. 152.1) and had remained generally stable in recent years. During the pandemic period, the regional hospitalization rate for suicide attempts increased in 2021 compared to 2019 (141.1 per 100,000 residents aged 10 and older vs. 151.9 nationally).

  • At the departmental level, Mayenne and Vendée had the highest hospitalization rates for suicide attempts in the region in 2021, at levels higher than those of metropolitan France and the region.

  • Hospitalizations for suicide attempts affected women more than men: the proportion of women among hospitalizations for suicide attempts increased in 2021 compared to the years 2017–2019, while that of men increased in 2020 compared to 2017–2019. Among women, the 10–19 age group was the most affected, whereas among men, it was the 30–39 age group. In 2021, the proportion of young people aged 10–24 increased significantly compared to 2017–2019, while that of those aged 25–64 decreased and that of seniors aged 65 and older remained stable.

  • As at the national level, the most frequently reported method of suicide in the region was drug overdose.

  • The case-fatality rate following hospitalization for suicide attempts in the Pays de la Loire region (15.7 per 1,000 hospitalizations) was higher than that observed in mainland France during the 2017–2019 period. The in-hospital case-fatality rate increased sharply with age and was higher among men.

• Suicide mortality:

  • In 2017, the age-standardized suicide mortality rate was 19.7 per 100,000 residents aged 10 and older in the Pays de la Loire region, ranking the region second among French regions. A downward trend had been observed since 2010, as at the national level.

  • The rate among men remained significantly higher than that recorded among women from 2010 to 2017. In 2017, suicide deaths were nearly four times more common among men than among women.

  • Among men, the age distribution of suicide deaths showed a predominance in the 40–59 age group. Among women, it was the 50–69 age group. Compared to metropolitan France, the Pays de la Loire region stood out for a significant proportion of suicides observed among women aged 80 and older.

  • As at the national level, the most common method of suicide recorded in the Pays de la Loire region was hanging, regardless of gender.

  • Over the 2015–2017 period, Sarthe had some of the highest suicide mortality rates among men and women in mainland France (ranking 4th for men and 1st for women). Among men, suicide mortality rates exceeded 30 per 100,000 inhabitants in the Loire departments, with the exception of Loire-Atlantique.