Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on self-harm

Abstract

There has been extensive discussion, some of it data-based1 but much of it speculative, on the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on suicide. Since death by suicide requires thorough investigation by professionals, such as coroners, collecting timely data on these deaths is challenging. Self-harm, an important public health concern in its own right, often precedes suicide, and can be used as a proxy outcome to identify how the pandemic has affected population mental health.