Health experts observe marked increase in suicidal thoughts among youngsters

“We have a state of emergency and are just putting out fires, it can't go on like this,” said Gregor Berger, head of child and adolescent psychiatry and psychotherapy at the Psychiatric University Hospital Zurich. Keystone / Patrick B. Kraemer

The number of attempted suicides by adolescents in Bern and Zurich increased sharply last year, according to the SonntagsZeitung newspaper. Experts are calling for a national register to better understand the scale of the phenomenon across the country.

Last year the University of Bern’s Clinic for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy registered a 50% increase in the number of minors with suicidal thoughts at its emergency ward, the Sunday paper reported. This followed a similar increase between 2019-2020.

“On certain days in autumn and winter, several patients visited us who had tried to take their own lives or were on the verge of doing so,” said clinic director and head physician Michael Kaess.

The clinic currently has almost three times more young people than the emergency ward has places for. Unlike previous years, the situation did not calm down last summer. “During the second pandemic year, we were quite full even in July and August; we are now totally overloaded. The admissions are exploding,” says Kaess.

Suicide is the second most common cause of death among 10- to 19-year-olds in Switzerland after accidents. About 35 young people aged 10-19 take their own lives every year, according to the Federal Statistical Office. The overall suicide rate for all age groups has remained stable in recent years.

‘Putting out fires’

The Psychiatric University Hospital Zurich is also experiencing a dramatic situation, according to the SonntagsZeitung.

“We have a state of emergency and are just putting out fires; it can’t go on like this,” said Gregor Berger, head of child and adolescent psychiatry and psychotherapy. The clinic recorded 278 suicide attempts last year. But Berger estimates that this is only 10% of all suicide attempts in the canton.

“Adolescents have suffered much more during the pandemic than adults,” says Berger. But he stresses that the phenomenon has been on the rise among young people over the past ten years.

The Zurich doctor would like to see the creation of a national register to clarify the number of suicide attempts in Switzerland.

“We have to systematically record the cases. Only then can we understand what leads to more and more young people ending up in psychological crises and, in the worst case, seeing death as the only way out,” he said.

The Federal Office of Public Health says it is aware of the lack of data. It says a national register is not possible, however, as the legal basis is lacking and there are data protection issues.