Presenter Profile
Karolina Kalata, BS
Comprehensive Injury Center
kkalata@mcw.edu
Karolina Kalata is a third-year medical student at the Medical College of Wisconsin, pursuing her Doctor of Medicine degree and hoping to apply to Psychiatry for residency. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a focus on Behavioral Neuroscience from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where she also minored in Spanish. Karolina has an extensive background in research, particularly in the fields of suicide prevention and cognitive development. She has contributed to various research projects, including analyzing the impact of COVID-19 on youth suicidal behaviors and assessing the effectiveness of refugee health curricula on medical trainees.
Presentations
Suicide and COVID-19: Analyzing Suicidal Behaviors in Youth after COVID-19 Related Deaths in the Community
Karolina Kalata, BS
Sara Kohlbeck, PhD, MPH
Suicide among Wisconsinites increased 40% from 2000 to 2017, where teens and young adults were more likely to have thoughts of suicide than any other age group. The stress related to the COVID-19 pandemic may have exacerbated these poor mental health outcomes among youth. This study examines the association between neighborhood-level COVID-19 mortality and suicidal behavior among youth living in those zip codes. We hypothesize that, because of the social disruption and neighborhood-level stressors of the COVID-19 pandemic, zip codes in Milwaukee County that experienced disproportionately high rates of COVID-19 deaths will also demonstrate higher rates of suicidal behaviors among youth and young adults ages 11 to 24.
This study utilized suicide and COVID-19 death data from the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office. Suicidal behavior data (attempts, self-harm, ideation) were collected from local hospital emergency departments. Mental health data focused on individuals ages 11-24. All data was filtered for residents of Milwaukee County and looked at the time between March 1, 2020, and March 31, 2022. Data was de-identified and filtered to eliminate repeat visits. Zip codes were categorized by socioeconomic status using criteria from Health Compass Milwaukee. Statistical analysis, including bivariate linear regression and multivariate analysis of variance (ANOVA), examined the association between rates of suicidal behaviors and COVID mortality by zip code, controlling for SES and median age.
There were 1695 COVID-19 related deaths and 836 individuals with suicidal behaviors. The regression analysis revealed a statistically significant relationship between COVID-19 death rates within zip codes and suicide rates among youth (p=0.037) in Milwaukee County. This association suggests that zip code areas with higher COVID-19 mortality experienced increased suicide behavior rates among youth. The multivariate ANOVA test showed median age as a significant factor (p=0.0424).
Findings indicate a significant relationship between COVID-19 death rates and suicidal behaviors at the zip code level in Milwaukee County. This study highlights the pandemic’s profound impact on youth mental health and offers a framework for regional analysis to better identify areas where youth face the greatest challenges and improve targeted injury prevention strategies.
1. Analyze data on suicidal behavior among youth ages 11-24.
2. Compare suicide related outcomes to COVID-19 related outcomes by zip code and understand the association.
3. Examine how social disruption from the COVID-19 pandemic may have exacerbated mental health outcomes among youth.