Asian journal of psychiatry
October 1, 2026 · via Europe PMC
An updated suicide statistical profile of the Philippines: 2006-2022.
Ramirez CM, de Jesus J, Germar M, Wong JQ, Onie S
AI summary — for doctors, generated from the abstract only
Philippine suicide rates were stable until 2019, jumped sharply in 2020, then returned to trend by 2022.
What was studied
National statistical analysis of Philippine Statistics Authority deaths (2006-2022) and police-investigated suicides (2020-2023) using age-standardised rates and interrupted time series.
Key findings
- Age-standardised rates rose 67.5% from 2019 to 2020 before returning to expected trends by 2022.
- Youth aged 10-24 accounted for one-third of deaths at the pandemic peak.
- Hanging was the predominant method, followed by poisoning.
Clinical relevance
Shows a pandemic-era suicide rise in a lower-middle-income country, particularly among young males.
Who should care
Limitations
Mortality registry data subject to under-reporting and misclassification, and the temporal link with COVID-19 is not causal.
Reinforce youth mental health support and means restriction; surveillance quality is limited.
This is an AI-generated summary of the published abstract, not a clinical recommendation. It may not reflect the full text or subsequent updates — verify against the original source before acting on it.
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Suicide is a major public health concern, causing over 720,000 deaths worldwide annually. Accurate and timely national data are essential for prevention, yet Philippine suicide mortality has not been systematically updated since 2005, limiting evidence-based action, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
METHODS
We analyzed Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) deaths (2006-2022) and police-investigated suicides (2020-2023) using ICD-10 X60-X84, calculating age-standardized death rates (ASDR), employing an interrupted time series analysis to assess change during the COVID-19 period, and disaggregating by age, sex, region, and method, where available.
FINDINGS
Suicide rates were stable from 2006 to 2019 but rose sharply in 2020. PSA ASDR increased by 67.5% from 2019 to 2020, then declined to expected pre-pandemic trends by 2022. Males comprised over 70% of total deaths per year; the male: female ASDR ratio peaked at 5.20 in 2021. Youth aged 10-24 accounted for one-third of deaths at the pandemic peak. Hanging was the predominant method, followed by self-poisoning with non-pesticide chemicals and pesticides. Median regional suicide death rates from 2006 to 2022 were highest in Region VII, followed by the Cordillera Administrative Region, Region II, Region X, and Region XI, indicating a broadly consistent group of higher-burden regions.
INTERPRETATION
Suicide mortality in the Philippines increased in 2020 and 2021, particularly among young males, unlike many high-income countries, before returning to the pre-2020 trajectory by 2022. Findings indicate a temporal association with the early COVID-19 period. Hanging remains the dominant method. Strengthened surveillance, regionally tailored interventions, and targeted youth mental health support are urgently needed to reduce preventable deaths.
DOI
10.1016/j.ajp.2026.105158
PMID
42849363
Research metadata (titles, abstracts, authors, publication dates) is sourced from Europe PMC, which aggregates content from PubMed/MEDLINE, PubMed Central, and other providers under the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM/NCBI). NLM does not claim copyright on abstracts; the original journal publishers or authors may hold rights to the full articles. AI-generated summaries are derived only from the abstract, never the full text, and are always labeled as AI-generated.
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