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Care"],"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n          <jats:sec>\n            <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n            <jats:p>Japan has one of the lowest COVID-19 death rates, while the annual suicide rate in 2020 has risen for the first time since 2007. This study aimed to identify high-risk populations and assess the impact of medical visits on suicide trends post-COVID-19 pandemic in Japan.<\/jats:p>\n          <\/jats:sec>\n          <jats:sec>\n            <jats:title>Method<\/jats:title>\n            <jats:p>This quasi-experimental study analyzed a population-based database from Hyogo Prefecture (2012\u20132022). Interrupted time-series analyses identified level and trend changes in monthly suicide rates per 1\u00a0million population during the exposure period (2020\u20132022) versus the control period (2012\u20132019). Regular visits to primary care and psychiatry stratified analysis.<\/jats:p>\n          <\/jats:sec>\n          <jats:sec>\n            <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n            <jats:p>2181 cases were analyzed, with two-thirds male and a median age of 54. Primary care physicians and psychiatric history were present in 69% and 40% of patients. The study found significant level changes in suicide rates overall (4.14, 95% CI: 1.70, 6.58) among individuals without regular primary care physician visits (2.83, 95% CI: 1.35, 4.32) and without psychiatric visits (2.85, 95% CI: 0.56, 5.14). In contrast, no significant changes were observed in individuals with regular primary care (0.99, 95% CI: -0.78, 2.76) or regular psychiatric visits (0.59, 95% CI: -0.98, 2.16). The trend changes were not significant in any of the groups.<\/jats:p>\n          <\/jats:sec>\n          <jats:sec>\n            <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n            <jats:p>This study suggests that a history of attending a medical institution may have prevented the rapid increase in suicides during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/jats:p>\n          <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1186\/s12875-025-02707-2","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,23]],"date-time":"2025-01-23T07:55:20Z","timestamp":1737618920000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Role of regular medical visits in mitigating increased suicide risk during the early COVID-19 pandemic in Kobe, Japan"],"prefix":"10.1186","volume":"26","author":[{"given":"Daisuke","family":"Miyamori","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yasushi","family":"Nagasaki","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shuhei","family":"Yoshida","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Saori","family":"Kashima","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Wataru","family":"Omori","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kei","family":"Itagaki","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Masanori","family":"Ito","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,23]]},"reference":[{"issue":"10","key":"2707_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"707","DOI":"10.1093\/qjmed\/hcaa202","volume":"113","author":"L Sher","year":"2020","unstructured":"Sher L. 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