Objectives

The aim of the article is to present data on the number of suicides in Poland in the period from 2000 to 2020 and to analyse changes in the number of suicides in the context of treatment with antidepressants.

Material and methods

The source of the data was the Police reports on deaths in suicide and the report of the National Health Fund. This report emphasises the increase in expenditure on services related to the diagnosis and treatment of depression and the reimbursement of antidepressants used in outpatient treatment. The calculations were performed using the Statistica 13 software.

Results

A very high or high (r < -0.6) negative correlations between the number of suicides and the following variables were found: the number of patients receiving prescriptions for reimbursed antidepressants, also in relation to the subgroup of patients under 18 years of age; the number of suicides and the number of patients at this age who were diagnosed with depression; the number of daily doses of the drug in reimbursed antidepressants; the number of sick days issued to the patient due to depression. However, in the 65–74 age group, the correlation between the number of suicides and the number of patients with prescriptions for reimbursed antidepressants was positive.

Conclusions

Bearing in mind the limitations of the presented analysis, emphasis should be placed on the study of cause-effect relationships in relation to suicidal behaviour in various age groups. In order to prevent suicide, a deeper analysis of the effectiveness of the available antidepressant treatment is necessary.