Study indicates Logic's '1-800-273-8255' prevented hundreds of suicides

A new study has indicated that rapper Logic's song '1-800-273-8255' prevented around 245 people from committing suicide.

In the periods when there was the most social media discussion about the song, there was a decrease in recorded cases of people taking their own lives in the US.

US National Suicide Prevention Lifeline said that after American hip hop musician Logic performed his popular song '1-800-273-8255' on MTV's Video Music Awards in 2017, calls to that number, which belongs to the US National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, increased by 50%.

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According to a new study, there was a 5.5% drop in suicides among 10-19-year-olds throughout three time periods: The first 34 days after the song's release, Logic's performance at the 2017 MTV Awards, and another extensively promoted performance at the 2018 GRAMMY Awards.

According to the study published Monday in the BMJ, this translates to a reduction of 245 suicides below the predicted number throughout those timeframes.

It found the lifeline received an excess of 9915 calls, an increase of 6.9% over the expected number.

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They also analysed Twitter activity to estimate how much attention the song received at any given time.

"Celebrities but also noncelebrities can have an important role in suicide prevention if they communicate about how they have coped with crisis situations and suicidal ideation," Study author Thomas Niederkrotenthaler, an associate professor in the department of social and preventive medicine at the Medical University of Vienna told CNN.

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Logic said to CNN: "To know that my music was actually affecting people's lives, truly, that's what inspired me to make the song,

"We did it from a really warm place in our hearts to try to help people. And the fact that it actually did, that blows my mind".

According to Logic, the song, which features Alessia Cara and Khalid, starts with someone calling the suicide hotline and claiming they want to end their life.

"I want you to be alive...," the second chorus says, channelling the voice of someone on the other end of the phone. "Now, let me tell why."

The song ends on a hopeful note, with the caller realising that life is worth living.

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In an email to CNN, psychiatrist Dr. Alexandra Pitman, an associate professor in the University College of London's Division of Psychiatry, said that sharing his personal history with depression "certainly makes his message more authentic, and helps suicidal people identify with the lyrics more strongly".

She was not a researcher in the study.

To read the full findings of the study, you can find it on BMJ here.

Listen to the track below.

Aneesa Ahmed is Mixmag's Digital Intern, follow her on Twitter