Occupational class differences in suicide: evidence of changes over time and during the global financial crisis in Australia.

Alison J Milner,Alison J Milner,Heather Niven,Anthony D Lamontagne,Anthony D Lamontagne,Anthony D Lamontagne

doi:10.1186/s12888-015-0608-5

Alison J Milner, Alison J Milner + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-015-0608-5

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Abstract

BackgroundPrevious research showed an increase in Australian suicide rates during the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). There has been no research investigating whether suicide rates by occupational class changed during the GFC. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the GFC-associated increase in suicide rates in employed Australians may have masked changes by occupational class.MethodsNegative binomial regression models were used to investigate Rate Ratios (RRs) in suicide by occupational class. Years of the GFC (2007, 2008, 2009) were compared to the baseline years 2001–2006.ResultsThere were widening disparities between a number of the lower class occupations and the highest class occupations during the years 2007, 2008, and 2009 for males, but less evidence of differences for females.ConclusionsOccupational disparities in suicide rates widened over the GFC period. There is a need for programs to be responsive to economic downturns, and to prioritise the occupational groups most affected.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12888-015-0608-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Highlights

Previous research showed an increase in Australian suicide rates during the Global Financial Crisis (GFC)
There is long-standing interest in the influence of macroeconomic changes on population-level suicide rates [1], most recently in relation to the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) [2,3,4,5,6,7], which occurred over the period 2007 to 2010 in high-income countries
Shifts in the working population must be considered in order to gain a full understanding of the impact of economic downturns on suicide rates, as absolute numbers of suicides among the employed exceed those among the unemployed [7]

Summary

Introduction

Previous research showed an increase in Australian suicide rates during the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). There has been no research investigating whether suicide rates by occupational class changed during the GFC. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the GFC-associated increase in suicide rates in employed Australians may have masked changes by occupational class. There is long-standing interest in the influence of macroeconomic changes on population-level suicide rates [1], most recently in relation to the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) [2,3,4,5,6,7], which occurred over the period 2007 to 2010 in high-income countries. Changes during economic downturns can be explained in part by rising unemployment, and the increased risk of suicide among the unemployed. Macro-economic changes could affect disparities or Milner et al BMC Psychiatry (2015) 15:223

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