Pandemic-related increases in self-poisoning among young girls cut across socioeconomic groups: a sex-stratified interrupted time series analysis of a national adolescent cohort in Sweden
1
Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
2
Department of Health Sciences, Brock University, St. Catharines, Canada
3
Center for Epidemiology and Community Medicine, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden
4
National Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
5
Institute for Social and Health Sciences, University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa
Popul. Med. 2026;8(Supplement Supplement 1):A2512
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
There is growing evidence that the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with increases in self-poisoning among adolescents, particularly among girls. However, while socioeconomic position is a known risk factor for self-poisoning, little is known about the role this played during the pandemic. The objective of our study was to assess the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic impacted trends of self-poisoning among young boys and girls in Sweden, and whether impacts differed by socioeconomic factors.
METHODS:
We used an interrupted time series analysis to assess the sex-specific impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the monthly rate of hospitalization for intentional self-poisoning (ICD10 codes X60-X69). Individual-level data were collected from a rolling cohort of Swedish adolescents ages 10 to 19 between 2005 and 2021 (approximately 1.13 million individuals per year). Stratified quasi-Poisson models were run to assess level and slope changes at pandemic onset in March 2020. Additional models were run to examine differential impacts among girls by age group and socioeconomic position.
RESULTS:
Across the 16-year study period, 17,151 cases of self-poisoning were observed, 78.4% of which occurred among girls. The impact of the pandemic on rates self-poisoning was sex-specific. An annualized increase of 19% per year (95% CI 5% to 35%) between March 2020 and December 2021 occurred among girls, corresponding to a reversal of a declining pre-pandemic trend (p=0.0002). No significant change in level or trend occurred for boys. Increases among girls were higher among ages 10-14 and observed regardless of socioeconomic position.
CONCLUSIONS:
In Sweden, the COVID-19 pandemic was accompanied by a substantial increase in rates of self-poisoning and a reversal of previously declining trends among young girls, exacerbating long-standing gender gaps. These negative impacts of the pandemic cut across socioeconomic groups, highlighting the widespread vulnerability of young girls to this dangerous expression of mental distress.
There is growing evidence that the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with increases in self-poisoning among adolescents, particularly among girls. However, while socioeconomic position is a known risk factor for self-poisoning, little is known about the role this played during the pandemic. The objective of our study was to assess the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic impacted trends of self-poisoning among young boys and girls in Sweden, and whether impacts differed by socioeconomic factors.
METHODS:
We used an interrupted time series analysis to assess the sex-specific impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the monthly rate of hospitalization for intentional self-poisoning (ICD10 codes X60-X69). Individual-level data were collected from a rolling cohort of Swedish adolescents ages 10 to 19 between 2005 and 2021 (approximately 1.13 million individuals per year). Stratified quasi-Poisson models were run to assess level and slope changes at pandemic onset in March 2020. Additional models were run to examine differential impacts among girls by age group and socioeconomic position.
RESULTS:
Across the 16-year study period, 17,151 cases of self-poisoning were observed, 78.4% of which occurred among girls. The impact of the pandemic on rates self-poisoning was sex-specific. An annualized increase of 19% per year (95% CI 5% to 35%) between March 2020 and December 2021 occurred among girls, corresponding to a reversal of a declining pre-pandemic trend (p=0.0002). No significant change in level or trend occurred for boys. Increases among girls were higher among ages 10-14 and observed regardless of socioeconomic position.
CONCLUSIONS:
In Sweden, the COVID-19 pandemic was accompanied by a substantial increase in rates of self-poisoning and a reversal of previously declining trends among young girls, exacerbating long-standing gender gaps. These negative impacts of the pandemic cut across socioeconomic groups, highlighting the widespread vulnerability of young girls to this dangerous expression of mental distress.
| eISSN: | 2654-1459 |
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