New report shows teen and elderly male suicide rates higher than before COVID
A shocking rise in the number of Victorian males taking their own lives during the COVID pandemic has been revealed, and one Melbourne doctor fears it could be “just the tip of the iceberg”.
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As many Victorian boys have taken their own lives in just nine months in 2020, as did over whole years before the COVID-19 pandemic.
A new Coroner’s Court report reveals 13 males under 18 suicided before September 30 this year, “which is approximately equal to the full-year frequency for this group in earlier years”.
It compares with 13 teenage boy suicides for all of 2019, 10 in 2018 and 11 the year before.
The deaths are being investigated by the coroner “to identify any potential underlying issues”, the report notes.
Fifty-seven young men under 24 killed themselves over the nine months from January, with two of the most recent suicides boys under 18.
Seventy older men over the age of 65 also took their own lives, the report reveals.
“This is slightly elevated compared to what would be expected based on previous years; the
30 September year-to-date frequency for this group was 66 in 2016, 57 in 2017, 46 in 2018, and 49 in 2019,” it notes.
While the suicide frequency in most age groups is consistent with previous years, the death rates of younger and older Victorians deserves “further commentary”, the report states.
A total 530 Victorians have suicided this year so far; 391 males and 139 females.
And the report shows two-thirds of those deaths have been in metropolitan as opposed to regional areas; a consistent pattern over recent years.
Melbourne surgeon Geoffrey Wells — who spearheaded a doctors’ campaign against the city’s harsh lockdown — said he feared the suicide figures were “just the tip of the iceberg” and a tsunami of mental health harm was bearing down on Victoria.
Mr Wells, who will meet with new health Minister Martin Foley on Wednesday to express his fears, said doctors were at the coalface of the COVID-19 pandemic and should be consulted about coronavirus policies.
“I’m still not sure who exactly is making health policy for Victoria (but) are they in a bubble, or just totally oblivious to the harm that’s occurring in Victorian society?” he questioned.
Mr Wells said there was now “overwhelming evidence” of the mental harm occurring in Melburnians because of the extended lockdown.
He was talking to other doctors regularly, who were reporting seeing more patients with poor mental health than ever, he said.
Particular fears were held for young Victorians, with evidence showing mental illness rates among teenagers were skyrocketing, he said.
And many of his own — mostly, older male — patients, were showing signs of depression because they could not see their families or attend the funerals of loved ones and friends, Mr Wells said.
“There will also be much more harm that’s going to happen down the track — in three or four months — from delayed diagnosis and when we see the fallout from the economic disaster,” he said.
The Coroners Court Monthly Suicide Data Report stresses the increased rate of young and elderly male suicides this year does not necessarily demonstrate an increasing suicide trend, as “random fluctuations” can occur.
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