The COVID-19 pandemic and epidemiologic insights from recession-related suicide mortality

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the initiation of large-scale quarantine measures, resulting in widespread closures of significant sectors of the worldwide economy. The International Monetary Fund predicts that the world economy will experience the worst recession since the Great Depression, labelling this the “Great Lockdown” [1]. In this context, we need to plan for deleterious mental health effects resulting from this global recession, including: job stress and insecurity, sharply rising unemployment and longer duration of unemployment, income shock, bankruptcy, rising household debt levels, marked decline in asset values, loss of savings, house repossessions, reduced healthcare resources, cuts in community and social services, strained relationships, increased social isolation, and rises in alcohol misuse [2].