A comparison of farming- and non-farming-related suicides from the United States' National Violent Deaths Reporting System, 2003-2016.

Abstract

Farmers are at higher risk of suicide than other occupations and the general population. The complex suicide risk factors have not been examined in a large, population-wide study across a significant time period. Thisobservational study drawson existing data from the United States' National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS), including 140,523 farming- or non-farming-related suicide decedents between 2003 and 2016 from across 40 states. "Farming-related" decedents included 2,801 suicides. Farmers had higher odds of being male, older, less well-educated, and American Indian/Alaska Native. Farmers had higher odds of using firearms and-when farmers used a gun-higher odds of using a long-arm weapon. Farmers had lower odds of having a known mental health condition or job problem, and lower odds of having made a previous suicide attempt or leaving a suicide note. Findings highlight the complexity of suicide risk within thecontext of farming in the United States and reinforce the need for tailored prevention efforts; employing means restriction of firearms; and emphasizingthat traditional risk factors may not be as common in the farming population.