It is no surprise to anyone that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has led to an unofficial mental health pandemic. We may experience anxiety of not knowing when we could get sick (or pass the virus onto others) or fall victim to depression due to isolation and loneliness secondary to social distancing mandates. We have all been affected in one way or another to varying degrees. For those in our communities with underlying mental health issues, the pandemic has only exacerbated existing problems.
Because of the redistribution in hospitals to take care of infected patients and increased demand for mental health services, finding appointments with a mental health professional has been proven more difficult, thus further exacerbating the problem.
A mental health issue that may be most devastating is the worsening suicide crisis, especially in communities of color. Minority communities have been dealing with a growing problem even before the pandemic, and now it is only even more prominent.
Black children under 13 die by suicide at a rate almost twice that of their white counterparts. Suicide rates for white children have decreased over time. However, unfortunately, children of other backgrounds in the U.S. are not seeing this same decrease. Suicide deaths among black adolescents and young adults have increased by over 45% from 2012 to 2019. The black community is not the only group suffering; suicide deaths in their Asian-American counterparts have increased by 40% within the same period. During the COVID pandemic, there was a rise in hate crimes directed towards Asian Americans as well.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, the most common cause of death in individuals ages 1 to 44 is unintentional injuries and accidents; however, this metric changes when looking at some minority communities: the most common cause of death in Asian Americans between the ages of 15 and 24 is suicide.
A crucial intervention for young individuals with suicidal ideation is the cultivation of planning for a promising future with psychiatric evaluation and treatment as needed. It is possible that current healthcare workers in the mental health space, including family medicine physicians and psychiatrists, are failing to encourage this mindset in vulnerable individuals within minority populations. There may also be a signficant problem with the effectiveness of screening and detecting suicide risk, which is dependent on the vigilance of school systems and the affordability of care.
In my own experience, I have noticed that mental health is often generational. This trend could be due to genetics, socioeconomic status, and a lack of resources. Early intervention is vital with any diagnosis, but I see how valuable this is for suicidal ideations. Unfortunately, the risk factors for suicide are challenging to detect. I hope this insight into disproportional effects on minority populations prompts mental healthcare workers to pay attention and ponder why these trends exist.
Additional Resources: JAMA Network and the CDC