Background: Few studies have examined the effect of pandemics on suicide-related outcomes. Aims: We examined whether suicidal ideation levels among the general population changed owing to the COVID-19 pandemic by tracking individuals between January and April 2020. Method: We used a prospective observational longitudinal design (n = 6,683) and stratified sampling to conduct online surveys of the general adult population in Japan before (baseline) and during the pandemic (follow-up). Results: Suicidal ideation levels were significantly lower during than before the pandemic; however, the effect size was very small. Participants who were younger, with unstable employment, without children, with low income, and receiving psychiatric care were more likely to have higher suicidal ideation levels during the pandemic. Limitations: Because this was an Internet survey and subject to selection bias, the sample was not necessarily representative of the Japanese population. At the time of the survey, COVID-19 cases and deaths in Japan were relatively lower than in other developed countries. The dropout rate may have affected the results. Conclusion: Although the short-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on suicidal ideation is limited, relatively young and economically vulnerable individuals are more likely to show exacerbated suicidal ideation during the pandemic.

中文翻译：

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COVID-19 大流行对自杀意念的短期影响。

背景：很少有研究考察流行病对自杀相关结局的影响。目的：我们通过跟踪 2020 年 1 月至 2020 年 4 月期间的个人，检查了普通人群的自杀意念水平是否因 COVID-19 大流行而改变。方法：我们使用前瞻性观察纵向设计（n = 6,683）和分层抽样进行在线调查大流行之前（基线）和大流行期间（后续）的日本一般成年人口的比例。结果：与大流行前相比，自杀意念水平显着降低；但是，效果大小非常小。在大流行期间，年龄较小、就业不稳定、没有孩子、收入低且接受精神病治疗的参与者更有可能有更高的自杀意念水平。限制：由于这是一项互联网调查并且存在选择偏差，因此样本不一定代表日本人口。在进行调查时，日本的 COVID-19 病例和死亡人数相对低于其他发达国家。辍学率可能影响了结果。结论：尽管 COVID-19 大流行对自杀意念的短期影响有限，但相对年轻且经济上脆弱的个体更有可能在大流行期间表现出加剧的自杀意念。