Temporal trends in suicide related emergency calls by age group and gender from 2014 to 2023

Gender-age differences in suicide behavior are well-documented. This study aims to analyze the temporal trends in suicide-related calls by gender and age groups and assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Monthly suicide-related calls to the 112-emergency number in the Valencian Community (Spain) from 2014 to 2023 (N = 66,881) were used. Calls were categorized by gender (male/female) and age group: youth (< 21), young adults (21-40), middle-aged adults (41-65), and elderly (> 65). Descriptive time series and LOESS regression modeling identified long-term and seasonal trends for each gender-age combination. Additionally, the pandemic's impact was assessed using interrupted time series analysis (ITSA) with March 2020 as the intervention point. A rising trend in suicide-related calls was observed, particularly among females. However, the trend differed depending on the age group. Seasonal patterns indicated a general summer peak, also with variations across gender and age groups. Finally, ITSA analysis revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on the temporal trends affecting young adult males and all female groups except elderly. The results suggest that suicide behavior trends could be significantly influenced by gender and age dynamics, and the COVID-19 pandemic could have exacerbated these trends in females.