MONTREAL — Quebec's public health institute says the number of girls 15 to 19 who arrived at hospital emergency rooms after attempting to take their own lives rose by 23 per cent from 2020 to 2021.
The Institut national de santé publique du Québec says in a report published today, there was also an increase in the number of girls 10 to 14 who used hospital services after suicide attempts or due to suicidal ideation.
Pascale Lévesque, an epidemiologist at the institute and one of the co-authors of the report, says it's possible that teenage girls are more likely to be taken to hospital by family members for suicidal behaviours than others.
She says that while teenage girls are more likely to be hospitalized for suicidal behaviours, they have one of the lowest suicide rates in the province.
The institute says the overall number of suicides in Quebec declined slightly in 2020, when compared with the year. However, that data remains preliminary as all suspected suicides must be investigated by a coroner and some investigations remain ongoing.
Lévesque says Quebec's suicide rate peaked in 1999 and appears to have now plateaued after declining for nearly 20 years.
The coroners office says there were at least 1,016 suicides in Quebec in 2020. Men were three times more likely to take their own lives than women and men aged 50 to 64 had the highest suicide rate.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 31, 2022.
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This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship.
The Canadian Press
