Teen suicide: an underreported and emerging plague
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CE - LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Teen suicide: an underreported and emerging plague Emiliano Gamberini1 · Etrusca Brogi1 · Domenico Pietro Santoanastaso1 · Emanuele Russo1 · Vanni Agnoletti1 · Costana Martino1 Received: 10 October 2020 / Accepted: 28 October 2020 © Società Italiana di Medicina Interna (SIMI) 2020
Keywords Suicides · Adolescents · Bullying · Family relations · Prevention Dear Editor, In 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) has published ‘Preventing Suicide: A Global Imperative’ with the aim to highlight and to sensitize the global public opinion on suicide and suicide attempts and to support the development of prevention strategies in our public health system [1]. Unfortunately, even if there is a lack of comprehensive epidemiological data, suicide is an important cause of mortality worldwide also in adolescences. According to the last survey of the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), suicide is responsible for 6.3% of the cause of death among children aged between 10 and 19 years in Italy [2]. Obviously, this phenomenon represents a major public health concern. Not only suicide but also suicidality has to be quickly identified and prevented. Suicidality covers suicidal thoughts, suicide plans and suicide attempts, and it represents one of the most important risk factors for completed suicide.
* Etrusca Brogi [email protected] Emiliano Gamberini [email protected] Domenico Pietro Santoanastaso [email protected] Emanuele Russo [email protected] Vanni Agnoletti [email protected] Costana Martino [email protected] 1
Department of Anesthesia and Intensive Care, Bufalini Hospital, Viale Giovanni Ghirotti, 286, 47521 Cesena FC, Italy
Suicide risk factors are heterogeneous. Among all, we can find female gender, family history of suicide, mental disorders, substance and alcohol abuse, access to firearm, mood disorders and stressful life events [3]. Nevertheless, the association between psychological, social and behavioral risk factors is extremely complex. Other important risk factors are represented by loss of family links and community support, impaired parent–child relationship, homeless, bullying, difficulties in school, marginalization and racism. Not to be underestimated, the social interaction had radically changed in the last 15 years with a remarkable impact on mental wellness. Indeed, the reduction in direct social interactions and the increased use of social network are associated with an increased risk of mood disorders [4]. Parallelly, cyberbullying represents a modern public health problem strictly connected to suicidal ideation in adolescence, with a stronger association compared with traditional bullying [5]. Bullying can trigger and accelerate suicidality. In fact, victims of cyberbullying are at risk of mental distress, depression and suicidal ideation, and attempts. In our Trauma Center Maurizio Bufalini Hospital (Cesena, Italy), in the last 10 years, 11 cases of adolescence attempted suicid
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