Women make twice as many suicide attempts as men and the highest number of cases is concentrated between the ages of 12 and 25, according to data provided today by the coordinator of the suicide prevention plan in Catalonia (Plapresc), Diego Palao. . Since 2020, the year of the Covid pandemic, attempts to end one's own life have grown by more than 2,000 per year and 15% of the cases correspond to minors.
However, experts point out that a change in trend could be occurring because in the first half of the year, although consultations for suicidal ideation have increased, suicide attempts have decreased in Catalonia and more markedly among women. especially in the younger group, from 12 to 25 years old.
"Globally the episodes have been reduced by 3%; in women by 8%, and among the youngest by almost 10%; so we think that perhaps we have already seen the peak of the curve that began with the pandemic and we believe that between For those under 18 years of age, the moment is changing because there is no longer the social stress that caused that crisis and because attention to the mental health of the child and youth population has also been reinforced," Palao commented at a press conference.
Between January and June, 9.7% more cases of suicidal ideation have been detected than in 2022, something that, according to experts, could indicate that we are being able to detect people who have a health problem or are going through a crisis sooner. that they try to hurt themselves. "More and more cases are being detected but of less severity or the consultation occurs at the beginning of the risk of suicide, when the idea is developing," said Palao, who believes that it is still too early to know if this is the result of the measures. promoted through the prevention plan that began in 2021, such as the Suicide Prevention Table through the 061 Salut Respon service, or the changes to facilitate access to the mental health service or the guides and protocols to break the taboo and address suicide in schools and other areas where at-risk populations are concentrated.
The Minister of Health, Manel Balcells, acknowledged that the figures have a lot to improve because last year there were 607 deaths by suicide in Catalonia, which means around 50 preventable deaths per day. "Suicide is here and for the figures to improve, things must be done and focus on prevention, on early detection," said the minister.
And the newly created prevention observatory, the guides to address suicide in education, in the university, in prisons or in the group of supervised minors that they are creating in collaboration with other departments of the Generalitat and also the new support program for survivors, family members, friends and relatives of the person who commits suicide.
Palao explained that from now on Justice will notify Salut of deaths by suicide so that professionals from the mental health center in the area can contact their relatives directly and offer them psychological help if they wish, a service that has been claimed and very well received. by survivors' associations, a group that has a high prevalence of attempts, the development of addictions and mental health problems, as explained by the president of Després del Suïcidi - Associació de Survivents, Cecília Borràs.
Regarding the balance of the first year of operation of the Suicide Prevention Table through 061, its manager, Nuria Casalé, assured that until August 27 they have had 12,094 consultations. In 7% of them they detected an imminent risk of suicide and in 17% a high risk, and in all of them they quickly activated ambulance services, while the rest were linked to the health services network. The largest number of consultations corresponded to women between 41 and 64 years old.
The data collected by the prevention observatory show that although women present the most suicidal ideations and attempts, 72% of those who commit suicide are men, and mainly between 30 and 64 years of age.
"The reason is that women use less forceful methods," said Dr. Palao, who also emphasized that the majority of people who die by suicide were not receiving specialized treatment, and hence the importance of breaking the taboo on this type of deaths and that services such as 061 are known so that if someone ever thinks of ending their life, they can access the health system immediately and receive professional and decisive help.
