Gender differences in suicide in Serbia within the period 2016-2020

Abstract

Background/Aim. About one million suicide deaths occur worldwide annually, which indicates the importance of this problem. The aim of the study was to give an overview of the status of gender differences in suicides committed in Serbia from 2016 to 2020 and to highlight the most important trends over the past ten years. This investigation continues the previous one from the period 2011?2016. Methods. The same method was used as in previous investigations with data obtained from the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, estimating gender differences for the total number of suicides, suicide rates, sociodemographic characteristics of suicidal victims, and methods of suicide. Results. Within the period 2016?2020, 4,752 suicides in Serbia were committed; among them, 75.1% were males (m) and 24.9% females (f) ? m : f = 3 : 1. The annual suicide rate showed a constant decrease from 2016 to 2020, and in 2020, it was the lowest (13 per 100,000 inhabitants). Married men (43.4%) and widowed women (38.6%), retired, with secondary education most often committed suicide. About a quarter (24.5%) of suicide committers were older than 75, and 42.6% were older than 65 years. Hanging, strangulation, and suffocation were the most common suicide methods ? 64% (m) and 54.9% (f). Conclusion. In the last decade, the suicide rate continued to decrease in Serbia year by year. Within the period 2016?2020, the m/f ratio of suicide rate in the age differences varied from 2 .4 in the oldest group (older than 75 years) to 9.1 in the group of adolescents. The Suicide Prevention Program in Serbia should be primarily targeted at two age groups at the highest risk of committing suicide, the old adult population and male adolescents. A comprehensive state prevention program should include education for general practitioners for early detection of high-risk individuals to provide them with psychiatric care, including support for suicide survivors.