Category: News

Fewer suicide attempts among young people

Suicidal behavior is a public health issue. The high rates of suicide attempts, particularly among young people and women, require ongoing monitoring of trends. Britt Reuter Morthorst from DRISP has recently completed an examination of the trends of suicide attempts by gender and age in Denmark during the period 2000–2021.

National linkage data for all individuals aged 10 years and older were analyzed. Suicide attempts were identified using data on hospital contacts. The method, joinpoint analyses, was applied to detect significant changes, i.e., increases or decreases, in suicide attempt rates over time.

The results showed that the highest rates of suicide attempts are still observed among younger individuals. Young men and women aged 19–24 had rates of 146 for men and 379 for women per 100,000 inhabitants, respectively. Over time, the greatest improvements, measured as annual percentual changes, were observed in the youngest age groups. Between 2012 and 2015, the suicide attempt rate for males aged 19-24 years decreased with 18%, a statistically significant finding. Among women aged 19–24, the suicide attempt rate decreased annually with 19% during the period 2012–2016. Poisoning was the most commonly used method.

No direct correlation between the international economic crisis in 2008 and changes of suicide attempt rates were identified. Instead, the rates appeared to have plateaued in the years earlier. A significant decline in the suicide attempt rate among women was observed during the years when age and packsize restrictions on over-the-counter painkillers were introduced, suggesting that these legislative measures influenced the trend in suicide attempt rates. The continued fluctuations of the rates, particularly among younger age groups, underscore the importance of an ongoing monitoring.


Link to the study:

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00127-024-02795-y

DRISP:

  • Britt Reuter Morthorst
  • Michella Heinrichsen
  • Annette Erlangsen

Individuals Diagnosed with Tinnitus have elevated rates of suicide

People with a hospital-diagnosed tinnitus have a 40% higher suicide rate when compared to those without a such diagnosis. This is the finding of a new study conducted in Denmark and highlights the critical need for awareness and support for patients who are challenged by their tinnitus.

The study was conducted by Dr Martin Mølhave of the University Clinic of Flavour, Balance and Sleep at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Gødstrup Hospital in collaboration with Danish Research Institute for Suicide Prevention and University of Oxford. The study, which is published in Journal of Psychosomatic Research, demonstrates a significant association between tinnitus and suicide based on analyses of data on more than 7.4 million Danish residents collected over the past 30 years.

Individuals who numerous times attended hospital due to tinnitus had an even higher suicide rate, especially during the time of and shortly after their hospital contact. The highest suicide rates were found among those with both tinnitus and mental disorders, thus, highlighting the challenges if there are pre-existing conditions.

“Conclusive evidence regarding the link between tinnitus and suicide risks did not exist, which is why we decided to conduct this study,” explains medical doctor Martin Mølhave. “Tinnitus presents a challenge in the clinical setting, as there is no curative treatment for most patients. It is our experience that some patients are highly affected by their tinnitus. It was therefore very important for us to investigate to identify high-risk groups and determine when risks are particularly pronounced.”

Tinnitus has been described as the hearing of sounds, such as ringing, although there is no external noise. It has been linked to hearing loss and may be a significant source of distress. Globally, about one in seven people experience tinnitus, of which approximately 2% experience severe problems. In Denmark, one in eight people reported to have tinnitus in 2021. Of these, 4% considered that tinnitus impacted their health negatively, equivalent of nearly 200,000 Danes.

“Suicide is a rare event, so even though there is a 40% increased risk among people with tinnitus, this affects only few patients”, says senior researcher Annette Erlangsen from DRISP. “In the general population, approx. 16 out of 100,000 people die by suicide each year. For patients with tinnitus the suicide rate is approx. 24 out of 100,000 people per year. Nevertheless, it is important to pay attention to those patients who have difficulty with tinnitus.”

The negative effects of tinnitus may be alleviated through counseling, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and sound therapy. It is possible that these types of support also may help reduce risks of suicide. The findings from this study underscore the importance of reaching out with support and effective interventions.

DRISP:

  • Annette Erlangsen

Link to the study:

https://shorturl.at/qjnzo

Collaborative partners:

  • Martin Møllehave, Sebastian Udholm og Terese Ovesen Universitetsklinik for Flavour, Balance og Søvn ved Afdeling for Øre-, Næse- og Halskirurgi, Regionshospitalet Gødstrup.
  • Keith Hawton, Centre for Suicide Research, University of Oxford, United Kingdom.

Website for parents of children with suicide attempt

In collaboration with people with lived experiences, DRISP has developed a website for parents of children with suicide attempt (www.selvmordsforsøg.dk). The website is now finalised and freely available for all. On the website, users will find video clips with parents (re-recorded by actors) talking about their personal experiences, an ‘advice robot’ Roberta, Q&A, supporting statements, and information on available resources, such as helplines and NGOs. The website is available in Danish and does have some comparison to the one offered by the US-based healthtalk (https://healthtalk.org/introduction/self-harm-parents-experiences/)

In one of the video clips, a mother tells about how she has chosen to talk to her daughter about her suicidal thoughts: “I have had to ask my daughter directly how progressed these thoughts were, i.e. how she envisioned acting on the thoughts, and doing so without me getting angry or extremely sad”.

The wesite is avilable in Danish only

http://www.selvmordsforsøg.dk

DRISP: Anette Juel Kynde, Annette Erlangsen, Jette LS Larsen

Nikolaj Kjær Høier wins awards for assignment and presentation

Nikolaj Kjær Høier who is a Research Assistant in DRISP and medical students won the 2nd prize in the competition for the Danish Region’s Award for Medical Students in Clinical Psychiatry at the annual meeting of the Danish Psychiatric Society on 15 March for the study “Association between treatment with hypnotics and suicide and attempted suicide: a nationwide cohort study”.

Prof. Martin Balslev Jørgensen presented the award and stated, on behalf of the award committee, that: “The award acknowledges that this is an important registry study on a topic, which often does not receive sufficient recognition. In addition, the committee remarked that the study contributes with exciting results based on thorough statistical analyses while accounting for relevant confounders. The committee also agreed that the discussion was good.“ The 2nd prize is accompanied by DKK 15,000.

DRISP is, furthermore, happy to share that Nikolaj Høier also won the prize for the best lightning round presentation at the International Association for Suicide Prevention’s Asia Pacific Conference in Bangkok, Thailand for his poster presentation of the study “The associations between suicide and hypnotics: a nationwide cohort study.”

CONGRATULATIONS, Nikolaj!

Denmark has a national plan for suicide prevention

Health minister Sofie Løhde recently announced that the government has passed a bill for a national action plan for suicide prevention. The plan is part of the larger 10-year plan for psychiatric care.

The agreement, which can be downloaded below, contains recommendations related to following focus areas:

  1) Better treatment and support for people at risk of suicide.

  2) Destigmatization of suicide thoughts and behaviours.

  3) More support for bereaved by of suicide and relatives affected by suicide attempts.

  4) Children and young people should be protected from self-harm and suicide-related content on the internet.

  5) Enhanced efforts of means restrictions.

  6) More research on suicide prevention and monitoring of the efforts in national plan.

The government has allocated 48.8 million DKK to the national suicide preventive initiatives this year and 65 million DKK annually from 2025. The full agreement regarding the funds allocated to national efforts can be found in Danish on this link:

https://shorturl.at/acnqL

DRISP is thrilled about the action plan. We have for numerous years argued that suicide preventive efforts need to be guided by a national plan. This is a prerequisite for setting priorities and reaching identified goals.

Download the entire national action plan in Danish here:

https://shorturl.at/fgV79

WHO National Suicide prevention strategies

WHO National Suicide Prevention Plans
WHO has released a report on national suicide prevention plans.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has released a status report on national suicide prevention plans. The report emphasizes that national plans are important for setting the topic of suicide prevention on the political agenda. A national strategy with an accompanying prevention plan is essential to implement suicide prevention. Without an overarching plan, efforts are at risk of failing and suicide rates remaining unchanged.

The report aims to be a resource tool to inspire governments and policy-makers to implement a national action plan in the field. Examples of national action plans from different WHO regions are presented.

Link to report: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/national-suicide-prevention-strategies-progress-examples-and-indicators

In 2021, WHO released guidelines on how to implement a suicide prevention plan. The guide, which called “Live Life”, provides concrete instructions on how to facilitate suicide prevention. It can be used to design national efforts, but the instructions also apply to smaller geographical or administrative units, such as local communities. The guidelines describes how to organize efforts and provides examples of concrete interventions, which previously have been shown to be effective.

Link to LIVE LIFE: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240026629

DRISP is launching the FORSAM Database

FORSAM stands for “Prevention of Suicidal Actions through Monitoring.” FORSAM is an online monitoring portal for suicide prevention, which has recently been developed by DRISP. The website presents data on suicides and suicide attempts for various risk groups. The latest available data is available at the municipality, healthcare cluster, regional, and national levels.

The idea behind FORSAM is to create an easily accessible monitoring portal where stakeholders in suicide prevention can easily find information, for instance to questions, such as:

  • What is the profile in terms of gender, age, marital status, household conditions, socioeconomic status, education, mental illnesses, chronic illnesses of individuals who die by suicide in a specific municipality?
  • What is the suicide rate among individuals with mental illnesses?
  • How many of the individuals who die by suicide in the catchment area of a specific hospital have received psychiatric treatment within the last 6 months?

You can find FORSAM here.

FORSAM distinguishes itself from existing databases by including: 1) breakdowns by risk groups (e.g., individuals with mental illnesses, chronic physical illnesses, unemployed individuals, divorced individuals, widows/widowers, disability pensioners, substance abusers, vulnerable youth, recent stressful events); 2) recorded contacts to the healthcare system, and 3) numbers on family members who are survivors of suicide and relatives who are affected by suicide attempts.

FORSAM aims to make data quickly and easily accessible to the many different stakeholders working in suicide prevention, providing them with up-to-date validated data.

FORSAM is operated by DRISP in collaboration with partners from municipalities (including Rødovre Municipality), the Local Government Denmark, Danish Regions, the leaders of the Suicide Prevention Clinics, and Livslinien.

The 2023 Nordentoftprize is awarded to Arnârak Patricia Bloch

The Nordentoft Prize 2023 is awarded to Arnârak Patricia Bloch for her tireless work in recent years in educating and informing healthcare professionals about suicide prevention in Greenland. The award will be presented at the National Network Day for Suicide Preventive Clinicians in Denmark on November 2, 2023.

Suicide is a significant problem in Greenland, although it is underprioritized from a political standpoint in Denmark. Arnârak Patricia Bloch was nominated for the Nordentoft Prize by Livslinien because she, over the past four years, has played a central role in spreading knowledge on suicide prevention among healthcare professionals in Greenland. Approximately 500 professionals have been trained to engage professionally and provide support to individuals with suicidal thoughts and their families—and this training has been delivered in the Greenlandic language. The fact that someone familiar with Greenlandic culture is conducting this training ensures better communication. Cultural understanding is crucial when addressing sensitive subjects, such as suicide. Arnârak and her colleagues have skillfully incorporated knowledge from outside and use it to benefit Greenland. We are honored to support a Greenlandic initiative aimed at preventing suicide.

On behalf of the prize committee,

Annette Erlangsen Elene Fleischer Jan-Henrik Winsløv

News about this years award can be found here

About the Nordentoft Prize:
The Nordentoft Prize was established by the Association for Education and Research in Suicide Prevention (“FUFS”) to honor the significant efforts of Professor Merete Nordentoft in the area of suicide prevention. The purpose of the prize is to raise awareness about suicide prevention on a broader level.

The prize is presented at the annual network meeting for Suicide Preventive Clinics on November 2, 2023, in Aalborg.

Previous Prize Recipients:
2013: Elene Fleischer

2014: Annette Erlangsen

2015: Lone Fogholm

2016: Erik Christiansen

2017: Jan-Henrik Winsløv

2018: Niels Buus

2019: Livslinien

2020: Trine Madsen

2021: Kate Aamund

2022: Charlotte Mühlmann

2023: Arnârak Patricia Bloch

The 2023 Papageno Prize is awarded to composer and artist Frans Bak

The Papageno Prize of 2023 goes to composer Frans Bak for his unique concept for survivors of suicide: “Songs for My Mother – Songs of Grief and Love After Suicide.” The award will be presented in connection with World Suicide Prevention Day on September 8, 2023, in Hillerød.

Composer Frans Bak lost his mother to suicide when he was 18 years old. Forty years later, the song “Lys nu, min engel” (Light Now, My Angel) came to him – a song dedicated to and about his mother. More songs followed. Frans organized a concert with his old friend and psychologist, Ane Christensen and others. They were deeply moved by the songs and the sense of community that emerged during the concert. After the concert, Ane encouraged Frans to share the songs through performances for suicide survivors. This was the birth of the idea: a singing and talking concert for suicide survivors.

Since then, Frans and Ane Christensen have toured the country, visiting living rooms, community centers, activity centers, churches, and more, to meet with groups of 5 to 50 people. These concerts serve as both a musical experience and a spiritual evening, given that singing can be easier than discussing when it comes to complex emotions. The concerts are unconventional and touching. They provide a beautiful, therapeutic, and meaningful experience, while also informing about help and treatment options in an educational and responsible manner.

About the Papageno Prize: This marks the 17th time the award has been presented in Denmark. It is given to media professionals who have ethically and informatively shed light on the issue of suicide for the public through their work.

The prize is named after the bird-catcher Papageno from Mozart’s opera “The Magic Flute.” Papageno contemplates suicide when he believes he has lost the love of his life, Papagena. However, three spirits intervene and remind him of reasons for living. The “Papageno effect” has become a term in research and denotes on how the media coverage might encourage those with suicide thoughts to seek help. Media coverage should ideally provide hope to those who might be contemplating suicide and inform them on where they can seek help as well as what to do if a loved one has suicide thoughts.

The purpose of the Papageno Prize is to:

  • Prevent through information
  • Avoid tabooing
  • Consider and protect survivors
  • Inform about the possibility of help and treatment for those contemplating suicide and survivors.

The guidelines for awarding the prize align with the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO), which can be found at www.selvmordsforskning.dk under the press room section.

Previous recepients
· 2022: The band LISS and journalist Sigurd Hartkorn Plaetner
· 2021: Podcast-host Pernille Strøm Øster and Jeppe Vester, Landsforeningen Liv&Død
· 2020: Elene Fleischer and Liselotte Horneman Krag, NEFOS
· 2019: Journalist Jonas Bisgaard Kristensen, JydskeVestkysten
· 2018: Journalist Jonas Damstrup Fried, DR
· 2017: Journalists Else Marie Nygaard and Maja Funch, Kristeligt Dagblad
· 2016: Nurse and Author Jorit Tellervo
· 2015: Journalist Sine Skott Andersen, TV2 Fyn
· 2014: Sportsjournalist Dan Philipsen, Jyllands-Posten
· 2013: Director and actress Lotte Andersen, documentary
· 2012: DRs youth program TVÆRS on P3
· 2011: Psychologist Birgitte Andersen and photographer Torben Åndahl
· 2009: Psychologist Bente Hjorth Madsen, hjemmeside www.forebygselvmord.dk
· 2008: Cecilie Elmose Warnich og Cecilia Sejer, DR
· 2007: Journalist Tommy Byrne, Fyens Stiftstidende
· 2006: Editor Thorkild Nyholm, DR 2005: Journalist Inger Anneberg, a4media

Behind the intiative is a workgroup consisting of: Merete Nordentoft, Foreningen for Uddannelse og Forskning i Selvmordsadfærd, Annemarie Knigge, Landsforeningen for efterladte efter selvmord, Kir Klysner, Dansk Journalistforbund og Christina Petrea Larsen, Center for Selvmordsforskning.

The YAM project will be conducted in Danish schools.

DRISP and The Research Unit in the Child & Adolescent Mental Health Center have received a grant from The Novo Nordisk Foundation to test the school initiative Youth Aware of Mental Health (YAM) in Danish schools.

The project is a cross-sectoral collaboration between the Social and Healthcare Sectors to investigate whether insight and knowledge about mental health vulnerability and self-harm can be prevented among students in 9th grade in Danish schools.

The YAM intervention is a 5-week evidence-based program that encourages young people to learn about mental health well-being, encountering role play and discussions on topics related to their everyday mental health. The intervention is manual-based and will be facilitated by trained YAM Instructors.

Several schools have already expressed their interest in the project, which will be conducted as a cluster randomized feasibility study in 8-10 schools across the country. The aim is to investigate whether the intervention can be implemented in Danish schools on a larger scale.

We are looking very much forward to getting started.

Read more here

(https://www.y-a-m.org)

Drisp: Britt Morthorst

Nikolaj Kjær Høier wins the second prize in the Danish Regions’ Prize Competition for Medical Students in Clinical Psychiatry

Nikolaj Høier from DRISP was awarded the 2nd Prize in the Danish Regions’ Prize Competition for Medical Students in Clinical Psychiatry at the Danish Psychiatric Society’s Annual Meeting on March 15th. The winning entry was titled ‘Associations of treatment with hypnotics with suicide and attempted suicide: a nationwide cohort study.’

The prize was presented by Prof. Martin Balslev Jørgensen, who stated on behalf of the judging committee that:

The prize entry represents an important registry study within a field that is often underestimated. The committee noted that the entry provides exciting results through appropriate statistical analyses with adjustments for confounders. Furthermore, the committee agreed that the discussion was of high quality.

The judging committee decided to award the 2nd Prize of 15,000 DKK.

Rewatch the workshop: Artificial Intelligence and Camera Surveillance as Means for Suicide Prevention in Public Places

DRISP, DSB, Banedanmark, Livslinien and University of Copenhagen are inviting you to a workshop on:.

Date: Nov 11, 2022

Time: 9.00-15.00

Place: Teams (online)

01. Integration of CCTV and Machine Learning for Prevention of Suicide at Public Places in Australia by
Dr. Mark Larsen, Black Dog Institute, Sydney, Australia

02. Implementation of Camera Surveillance for Suicide Prevention in the Stockholm Metro System by Johan Fredin-Knutzén, Nationellt centrum för suicidforskning och prevention, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden Arne Grundberg, SL/Region Stockholm, Sweden

03. Investigating the Effectiveness of Surveillance Technologies to Prevent Suicides at ‘High-Risk’ Locations in the UK by Dr Lisa Marzano, Faculty of Science and Technology, Middlesex University, UK & Dr Jay-Marie Mackenzie, University of Westminster, UK

04. Prevention of railway suicide by camera surveillance in the Netherlands by Kristian Ruiter, manager ‘Camera surveillance’, ProRail

05. Safe lives – efficient AI surveillance to alert trains in real-time in Denmark by Martin Riishøj Mathiasen, DSB

06. ‘OPEN MICROPHONE’: What are some of the main challenges in this field? Send us your questions and we’ll have an open discussion, which all participants can join. Chaired by Annette Erlangsen

07. Identifying Behaviours of persons at risk of suicide from CCTV surveillance in Canada by Professor Brian L Mishara, Psychology Department, Director, Centre for Research and Intervention on Suicide, Ethical Issues and End of Life Practices (CRISE) Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada

08. Intelligent video surveillance for automatic detection of suicide attempts (Recorded talk) in Canada by Professor Wassim Bouachir, Computer Sciences, TÉLUQ University, and Montreal, Canada and Centre for Research and Intervention on Suicide, Ethical Issues and End of Life Practices (CRISE) Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada

09. PANEL DISCUSSION: FUTURE DIRECTIONS by Participants: – Nils la Cour, Safety Manager, Danish State Railways (chair) – Brian L Mishara, Psychology Department, Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada. – Steffen Petersen, DSB Digital Labs, Denmark.

Rewatch the workshop: Prevention of railway suicide

DRISP, DSB, Banedanmark, Livslinien, and University of Copenhagen.

Recorded the Nov 2, 2020
Time: 10.00-14.45

Welcome by Prof. Merete Nordentoft and Nils la Cour (7 min)

Opening speech
by Danish Minister for Transport, Benny Engelbrecht (14 min)

Suicide by railway in Denmark by Christian Ørbæk Larsen, Banedanmark (3,5 min)

Prevention of suicide by railway: an overview by Annette Erlangsen PhD, DRISP (23 min)

How does railway suicides affect train drivers? Tommy Damstedt Jørgensen, Peer supporter, Danish Railways (15 min)

LiDAR technology for surveying train platforms by Mark Bouldin, Hitachi, United Kingdom (37 min)

Factors deterring and prompting the decision to attempt suicide on the railway networks by Lisa Marzano PhD, Department of Psychology, Middlesex University London, UK (40 min)

Suicide Prevention on the Dutch Railways: moving beyond physical and organisational barriers by Roald van der Valk, ProRail Safety and Security, The Netherlands (27 min)

Suicide in the transport system in Sweden by Anna-Lena Andersson PhD, Swedish Transport Administration. (23 min)

PANEL DISCUSSION with directors of the Danish Railways and political spokespersons (7 min)

Merete Nordentoft receives award from NOVO Nordic 2020

Professor Merete Nordentoft from DRISP and Copenhagen Research Center For Mental Health has received this year’s Award from Novo Nordic together with a professor at Aarhus University for their research on suicide and mortality in relation to schizophrenia and other mental disorders.

Twenty years ago, evidence-based knowledge on risks of suicide and o psychiatric comorbidity among people suffering from schizophrenia and bipolar disorders was rather limited. Professor Merete Nordentoft has together with Preben Bo Mortensen from Aarhus University helped change this. With their research on suicide and mortality among people with schizophrenia and other serious mental disorders, they have made significant contributions to the international understanding on prevention of suicide and severe mental disorders.

In recognition of this, the Novo Nordisk Fund this year chose to give the Novo Nordisk Prize 2020 to Merete Nordentoft and Preben Bo Mortensen.