Alcohol restrictions and suicide rates in South Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic: results of a natural experiment.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Alcohol use is a well-established potentially modifiable risk factor for suicide, yet few studies have investigated the impact of alcohol restrictions on suicide rates, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.

Methods

We used data from nationally representative annual surveys of postmortem investigations in 2017 (n=6117) and 2020/21 (n=6586) to estimate changes in suicide rates associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and related alcohol restrictions.

Findings

Age standardised suicide mortality rates per 100 000 were 10.91 (10.64, 11.18) in 2017 and 10.82 (10.56, 11.08) in 2020/2021, with approximately 4.4 times more deaths among males than females in both periods. No significant differences were observed between overall suicide rates during the 2020/

SUBMITTER: Hodgson AF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11749723 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature