Suicide Statistics Research Articles

Challenges in the evaluation of suicide prevention measures and quality of suicide data in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland: findings from qualitative expert interviews

BackgroundSuicide prevention requires diverse, integrated, and evidence-based measures. Comprehensive evaluation of interventions and reliable suicide data are crucial for guiding policy-making and advancing suicide prevention efforts. This study aimed to analyze current issues and gaps in the evaluation of suicide prevention measures and the quality of suicide data in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland to derive specific recommendations for improvement.MethodsOnline, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 36 experts in suicide prevention from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, covering insights from policy, science, and practice. The interviews took place between September 2022 and February 2023, were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using the Framework method.ResultsWhile solid evidence supports the effectiveness of some suicide prevention interventions, experts indicated that the evaluation of many other measures is weak. Conducting effectiveness studies in suicide prevention presents a range of methodological and practical challenges, including recruitment difficulties, choosing adequate outcome criteria, ethical considerations, and trade-offs in allocating resources to evaluation efforts. Many interviewees rated the quality of national suicide statistics in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland as comparatively high. However, they noted limitations in the scope, timeliness, and reliability of these data, prompting some regions to implement their own suicide monitoring systems. None of the three countries has national routine data on suicide attempts.ConclusionWhile some challenges in evaluating suicide prevention measures are inevitable, others can potentially be mitigated. Evaluations could be enhanced by combining traditional and innovative research designs, including intermediate outcomes and factors concerning the implementation process, and employing participatory and transdisciplinary research to engage different stakeholders. Reliable suicide data are essential for identifying trends, supporting research, and designing targeted prevention measures. To improve the quality of suicide data, a standardized monitoring approach, including uniform definitions, trained professionals, and cross-sector agreement on leadership and financing, should be pursued. This study provides actionable recommendations and highlights existing good practice approaches, thereby supporting decision-makers and providing guidance for advancing suicide prevention on a broader scale.

SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC AND PSYCHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF PERSONS WITH SELF-DESTRUCTIVE BEHAVIOR

Self-destructive behavior is behavior associated with various forms of self-destruction: from high-risk actions aimed at seeking new sensations to self-harm and suicidal acts. This problem remains the most acute problem of modern Kazakhstan, since according to the Wisevoter report, as of February 20, 2023, our fatherland ranks 19th out of 178 countries in the world in suicide statistics (17.6 per 100 thousand population). Objective: to study the role of socio-demographic and psychological factors in persons with self-destructive and to improve preventive measures. Materials and methods: Clinical and experimental psychological methods were used to study and analyze socio-demographic and psychological factors in people who showed self-destructive forms of behavior. This research was an initiative and was carried out on the basis of the agreement on cooperation between the Department of Psychiatry and Narcology of KazakhstanRussian Medical University and the Center of Mental Health in Almaty in the period from 01.09.2022 to 01.09.2023. 120 people with various forms of self-destructive behavior who applied for psychological help were included in the study. Results: Among people with self-destructive behavior, the majority of those who applied were females 81 (67.5%%), older adolescents 15-19 years old 52 (43.3%) and young adults 20-24 years old 36 (30%), unmarried 69 (57.5%), not addicted to surfactants and gambling 77 (59.6%), not on dynamic registration and observation in the center of mental health 118 (98.3%). The leading cause of self-destructive behavior was problems in the family 58 (48,3%), undivided love 30 (25%), 16 (13,3%) were bullied in educational institutions and because of debts 7 (5,8%). In the examined persons with self-destructive behavior prevailed behavioral disorders: demonstrativeness, schizoid tendencies, rigidity, jealousy, tendency to risk, impatience, selfdestructive tendencies in alcoholism, drug addiction and negative reactions of suicidal tendencies - anxiety, pessimism, seclusion from the real world, depression. Conclusions. 1. It has been established that females, older teenagers and young people, mainly unmarried (university) students living in Almaty, are more susceptible to destructive behavior. 2. The prevalence of self-destructive behavior represented by fleeting, unobtrusive, controlled thoughts about the “meaning of life” over active suicidal intentions and actions is revealed, which corresponds to the initial stage of formation of suicidal behavior in the structure of which a high rate of this contingent of persons seeking specialized psychological, psychotherapeutic and psychiatric help is revealed. 3. It has been established that in the formation of self-destructive behavior with a suicide attempt, along with the personal characteristics of individuals (demonstrativeness, schizoid tendencies, rigidity), the clinical component in the form of affective spectrum disorders, represented by a depressive mood background, is of dominant importance.

The #BlueWhaleChallenge and presence of suicidal ideations on Polish-language Twitter

ABSTRACT Objective The Blue Whale Challenge (BWCh), widely reported as a media hoax in 2017, was allegedly an online game encouraging teenagers to commit suicide. Method Google Trends identified the peak interest in the BWCh in March 2017. Tweets containing ‘suicide’ were analyzed, with each tweet reviewed for personal suicidal content. Data on suicide attempts and deaths were sourced from the National Police Headquarters, while hospital admissions data (ICD-10 codes F00-F99 and T36-T65) was collected from the Hospital Morbidity Survey. Crisis helpline data for children and adolescents (116 111) was also gathered. Results Between January 24 and April 10, 2017, 17,063 tweets containing ‘suicide’ were posted, with 240 identified as personal suicidal content: 65.7% expressed suicidal thoughts, 11.7% plans, and 1.3% encouragement. In April 2017, suicide deaths were higher among 19–24-year-olds compared to April 2018, while suicide attempts were lower among 13–18-year-olds compared to April 2019. No significant increase in suicide attempts was found during the BWCh period for individuals aged 0-18. Hospital admissions for T36-T65 codes peaked in 2017 for the 5–14 age group. Crisis helpline data showed decreasing phone calls and increasing chat messages from 2015 to 2020. Discussion There is no definitive link between BWCh popularity and a rise in suicidal behaviour nationwide. Despite widespread media coverage, there was no noticeable surge in suicide statistics. This study highlights the prevalence of harmful suicidal content on Twitter, emphasising the importance of mental health promotion, prevention, and support for social media users.

Temporal Fluctuations of Suicide Mortality in Japan from 2009 to 2023 Using Government Databases.

In Japan, suicide mortalities consistently decreased before the COVID-19 pandemic (from 2009 to 2019) but, conversely, increased after the pandemic outbreak from 2020 to 2022. To provide up-to-date suicide statistics in Japan, this study determined the temporal fluctuations of standardized suicide mortalities (SMRs), disaggregated by sex and age, by joinpoint regression analysis using the government suicide database, named the "Basic Data on Suicide in Region". From January 2009 to December 2023, three temporal fluctuation patterns of SMRs pertaining to working age and older adults were detected, such as attenuations of decreasing trends before the COVID-19 pandemic (from around the mid-2010s), a sharply increasing trend that coincided with the pandemic outbreak, and gradually decreased during the pandemic, but no changes at the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, the SMRs of working-age females sharply increased concurrently with the pandemic outbreak, whereas those of males did not change. However, before the pandemic, decreasing trends of the SMRs of working-age males diminished in the mid-2010s, but those of females consistently decreased. The SMRs of working-age males indicated non-significant but sharply increasing trends in early 2022, a trend that was not observed for females. In contrast to working-age adults, the SMRs of adolescents already began to increase in the mid-2010s and also indicated consistently increasing trends between the periods during and after the pandemic. These results suggest, contrary to our expectations, that the impacts of both the outbreak and end of the COVID-19 pandemic were limited regarding the increase in SMRs from 2020. Therefore, when revising suicide prevention programs in the post-COVID-19 era, it should be noted that focusing on pandemic-associated factors alone is not sufficient.

Suicide mortality rates in Japan before and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic era.

Statistical analyses from Japan reported increasing suicides in 2020, first in the world, proving the severity of the public health crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic; however, so far, international suicides have not been shown to be objectively increasing at population level. Followed studies reported the existence of a substantial heterogeneity of suicides among subgroups and time-lag impacts. Against public health crisis in Japan, policymakers, psychiatrists and public health personnel should prioritize improving suicide prevention programs following evidence-based policymaking. Understanding how/what factors relate to the COVID-19 pandemic and what other factors have shaped the increasing suicide numbers since 2020 through objectively well-controlled/fine-grained analyses of high-quality longitudinal/cross-sectional data at the individual, regional, and national levels is important for identifying the reasons for the recent trend. For this purpose, this study examined suicide statistics, statistical analysis methods, and their interpretations. Recent analyses suggest an increased suicide risk among females <50 years and males <30 years in 2020-2022. Notably, time-series analyses revealed that adolescent suicides began increasing before the pandemic, while working-age female suicides sharply increased synchronously with the pandemic outbreak. Causality analyses suggest that social issues facing Japan and recent global psychosocial and socioeconomic transformations are risk factors for suicide in high-risk groups. Finally, this report demonstrates the importance of providing appropriate support based on an objective understanding of individuals who are at risk for suicide, without being bound by traditional established knowledges.

Assessment of children suicide attempts frequency in the peripandemic period.

Our study aimed to evaluate patients after suicide attempts treated at the Department of Trauma Surgery for Children in the peripandemic period, assessment of potential risk factors, and the school's participation as the unit responsible for the prevention of suicidal behavior. Retrospective review of the medical database at equal time intervals of 24 months to identify patients treated before and after the COVID-19 was done. Thorough analysis including injury mechanism, medical procedures, history of previous mental disorders or suicidal behavior was performed. Furthermore, results were compared with the Polish police suicide statistics. Based on our retrospective review we found 4 patients treated in our department before the pandemic and 10 patients treated after COVID-19 outbreak. The group before SARS-Cov-2 era consisted of three girls and one boy with a mean age of 14.97 (12.7-17.6). The group treated in the pandemic crisis consisted of 8 boys and 2 girls, the mean age was 15.49 (10.8-17.2). In the pre-COVID-19 group, 2 out of 4 patients had received psychiatric treatment before, but none had attempted suicide before. In the COVID-19 group, 6 out of 10 patients had previously received psychiatric treatment, moreover 3 of them attempted suicide before. Based on our analysis, the number of individuals who displayed suicidal attempts has raised. Between 2018 and 2021 the largest number of suicides concerned the 13-18 y.o. group, both for the Silesian Voivodeship (H = 9.374; p = 0.0092) and for the whole country (H = 10.203; p = 0.0061). (1) Results of our study indicate that the pandemic may have caused a wide range of negative mental health consequences for young individuals; (2) Suicide attempts in children are often related with high energy trauma; (3) Teachers and school psychologists, as well as medical health providers, should be aware of rising suicide rates among adolescents.

Analysis of suicide statistics and trends between 2011 and 2021 among Korean women.

This study aims to analyze the number of suicide deaths in women, trends in suicide mortality, characteristics of suicide by age, and outcomes of suicide means over the past decade (2011- 2021) in South Korea. Using cause of death data from Statistics Korea, an in-depth analysis of Korean women's suicide trends was conducted for the period of 2011-2021. In 2021, women's suicide death in Korea was 4,159, a rate of 16.2 per 100,000 population. The rate increased by 1.4% from the previous year. Since 2011, women's suicide rate has been on a steady downward trend, but since 2018, it has been on the rise again. Suicide rates among women in their 20s and 30s have increased, especially since the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, and suicide rates among women over 70 years remain high. As compared to 2011, pesticide poisoning and hanging among the means of suicide have decreased significantly, while drug and carbon monoxide continue to increase. Suicide rates for Korean women in their 20s and 30s have increased significantly in recent years, and those for women over 70 years remain high. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the causes and establish national policies for targeted management of these age groups, which contributes significantly to the rising suicide rate among Korean women.

Epidemiological data of suicidal behaviour – how to inform and not to disinform?

Introduction and objective: Suicide is a significant global public health concern. Media reporting greatly influences suicide prevention efforts, with the Internet and social media playing a major role. Inappropriate reporting can undermine prevention, while responsible reporting can have a preventive effect. The World Health Organization and the International Association for Suicide Prevention have issued a set of guidelines for journalists, which are also available in the Polish language. This article is a preliminary report on suicide behaviour epidemiology reporting in the Polish media. Materials and methods: The study used data from the National Police Headquarters to analyse suicide attempts and deaths in Poland between 2017 and 2022. Population size data was obtained from the Statistics Poland website. News analysis was conducted using the BuzzSumo Enterprise Application to assess social media shares and engagements for the top 100 popular web pages with the keyword “suicide” in the Polish language news between 2017 and 2022. Results: The study found that media articles often omitted standardised indicators when reporting suicide statistics. The media focus on growing suicide mortality among children and adolescents was evident, while a similar trend among older adults received only limited attention. Additionally, some articles failed to distinguish between suicide attempts and deaths, used sensational language in the headlines, and did not consider changes in reporting methodologies, leading to potential misinterpretations of suicide-related data. Conclusions: Responsible reporting is crucial to prevent negative effects on public health. Understanding the association between suicide and misinformation can lead to targeted interventions and strategies to safeguard well-being.

Exploring cause-specific strategies for suicide prevention in India: A multivariate VARMA approach

Efficiently predicting suicide rates aids resource allocation and response preparedness. This study investigates time-series data with multiple variables to model and forecast suicide events in India. Utilizing official suicide statistics (2001–2021), results highlight the superiority of the multivariate VARMA model over VAR and univariate ARIMA models. This approach uncovers overlooked patterns and a concerning upward trend in future Indian suicide incidents. The research provides insights that aid public health professionals in targeting high-need areas and enhancing readiness and suggests cause-specific preventive strategies to counter this trend.

Breaking the Ice: Exploring the Link Between Glaciers and Mental Well-being

Background Glaciers are integral in maintaining hydrological cycles, moderating oceanic levels, and preserving valuable ecosystems. Cryospheric regions are often overlooked in evaluating the environmental factors affecting mental health. This study investigates the potential influence of glacial presence and melt behaviour on global mental health, particularly among marginalized communities.&#x0D; Methods National suicide rates of general population and specific age categories were gathered from World Health Organization between 2012-19. Glacial data was sourced from the World Glacier Monitoring Service, and Randolph Glacier Inventory. Wilcox testing was conducted to identify mean suicide rates across countries with and without glaciers. Pearson and Spearman correlation testing were employed to identify relationships between melt rate indicators and suicide rates. &#x0D; Results Over the entire eight-year duration, countries with the existence of glaciers revealed a notably higher suicide rate (p-value of 0.0001). Children aged 5-15 years old demonstrated a consistently higher suicide rate amongst countries with glacial bodies (p-value between 0.020-0.037). A positive correlation between regional suicide rates and glacial area was revealed, except in low-latitude countries. Although melt rate variability showed no significant correlation with suicide statistics, Greenland was the only country to demonstrate a negative relation among all populations.&#x0D; Conclusions To address the ongoing impacts of the climate crisis, further research is necessary to develop an inclusive framework that acknowledges the unique challenges faced by communities living in cryospheric regions. This study is the tip of the iceberg, recognizing the importance of inclusivity in addressing the mental health implications of climate change in these environments.

Trends in Suicidal Mortality and Motives among Working-Ages Individuals in Japan during 2007-2022.

Suicides in Japan consistently decreased from 2009-2019, but increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. To identify causes of increasing suicides, age-dependent and temporal fluctuations of suicide mortality rate per 100,000 (SMRP) in working-age generations (20-59 years) disaggregated by suicidal motives (7-categories; 52-subcategories) and sex from 2007 to 2022, were analyzed by analysis of variance and joinpoint regression, respectively, using the government suicide database "Suicide Statistics". The SMRP of 20-29 year-old males and 20-49 year-old females began to increase in the late 2010s. SMRPs of these high-risk groups for suicides caused by depression (the leading suicidal motive for all groups) began increasing in the late 2010s. Economic-related, employment-related, and romance-related problems contributed to the increasing SMRPs in 20-29 males in the late 2010s. Romance-related and family-related problems contributed to the increasing SMRPs of 20-29 females in the late 2010s. Increasing SMRPs caused by child-raising stress in 20-39 year-old females from the late 2010s was a remarkable finding. In contrast, SMRPs of 30-59 year-old males consistently decreased until 2021; however, in these groups, SMRPs for suicides caused by various motives sharply increased in 2022. The consistent increase in SMRPs of high-risk groups from the late 2010s to the pandemic suggest recent socioeconomic and psychosocial problems in Japan possibly contributed to the increasing SMRPs in these high-risk groups independently of pandemic-associated factors, whereas the SMRPs of males of 30-59 years were probably associated with the ending of the pandemic rather than pandemic-associated factors.

How Do Recommended Elements in Suicide News Coverage Work? An Investigation of the Effect of Responsible Reporting and Readers’ Reflectiveness on Suicide Prevention

ABSTRACT To examine the effect of positive elements in suicide reporting guidelines, we assessed how responsible reporting on suicide (RRS) affect cognitive and intentional responses. We also investigated the moderating role of audience reflectiveness in news processing. Here, 308 individuals participated in a single-factor between-subject experiment conducted in South Korea. We manipulated the number of positive RRS features in news articles by adding suicide statistics, contact information for helplines, and efficacy-enforcing information. Overall, news articles containing multiple RRS elements had a stronger impact on behavioral intentions to help others in a suicidal crisis than a basic news article without RRS elements. Interestingly, reflectiveness had a stronger influence on individuals who read a suicide news report having the most RRS elements relative to those who read suicide news without any RRS elements, signifying an indirect impact of suicide news on intentions to help. The implications of this RRS effect identified are discussed in terms of suicide prevention.

Suicidal Mortality and Motives Among Middle-School, High-School, and University Students

The suicide mortality rate per 100 000 population (SMRP) consistently decreased before the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in Japan and then unexpectedly increased during the pandemic. However, the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. To identify trends in and factors associated with suicidal mortality and motives among students in Japan from 2007 to 2022. In this cross-sectional study, data on SMRPs among Japanese middle-school, high-school, and university students were obtained from the government suicide database Suicide Statistics of the National Police Agency. Age-dependent and temporal fluctuations in annual SMRPs, disaggregated by suicidal motive (7 categories and 52 subcategories), sex, and school, were analyzed using linear mixed-effect and joinpoint regression models, respectively. Total suicide numbers from 2007 to 2022 were as follows: 760 male middle-school students, 635 female middle-school students, 2376 male high-school students, 1566 female high-school students, 5179 male university students, and 1880 female university students. The mean (SD) student populations from 2007 to 2022 were as follows: 1 752 737 (81 334) male middle-school students, 1 675 572 (78 824) female middle-school students, 1 648 274 (67 520) male high-school students, 1 614 828 (60 032) female high-school students, 1 652 689 (32 724) male university students, and 1 229 142 (57 484) female university students. Among male students, the leading motives were school-related factors (underachievement and worrying about the future), followed by family-related and health-related motives. Among female students, school-related and family-related motives decreased, but health-related motives showed an age-dependent increase. The SMRPs of middle-school male students and female students were almost equal (mean [SD], 2.7 [1.0] vs 2.4 [1.4]), but the age-dependent increase in SMRPs among male students was pronounced (mean [SD], high-school vs university male students, 9.1 [2.4] vs 19.6 [3.0]; high-school vs university female students, 6.1 [2.4] vs 9.6 [1.8]). However, the incidence of suicide among high-school students associated with health-related motives was greater in female students. The majority of suicides associated with major impactable suicidal motives (school-related, health-related, and family-related motives) began increasing before the pandemic. Changes in SMRP associated with interpersonal relationships, such as conflict with classmates or parents, were not significant, but the rates increased greatly during the pandemic. School-related, health-related, and family-related problems were major motives, whereas the impacts of health-related and family-related motives increased and decreased with age, respectively. Notably, most SMRPs associated with major impactable motives (underachievement, conflict with a parent or classmate, and mental illnesses) had already begun increasing in the late 2010s, indicating that recent increasing SMRPs among school-aged individuals were associated with pandemic-related factors and other factors affecting this generation before the pandemic. It may be inappropriate to uniformly apply research findings based on school-aged individuals to school-based suicide prevention programs for students in middle school, high school, and university.

Nordic region suicide trends 2000–2018; sex and age groups

Background and aim Overall, suicide rates in the Nordic region, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, have declined in the past 40 years. The aim of this study was to determine trends in suicide mortality from 2000 to 2018. Methods Data were obtained from official suicide statistics for men and women, 15 years and older. Gender and age groups in four calendar periods were analyzed using Joinpoint Estimated Regression Coefficient. Results The crude regional suicide rate was 17.1, 2000–2004, decreased to 14.1 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2015–2018. Age-standardized rates are 13.6–11.3. The crude rate decreased by 19.5% (16.3% age-standardized), 19.3% for males and 20.5% for females. The largest decrease was found in Finland (34.9%), the smallest in Norway (1.4%). In males, the exception was an increased suicide rate among all Icelandic except 15–24-year olds, and in 45–64 year-old Norwegians. Among females, an increase was seen among 15–24-year olds in all countries except Iceland, in all age groups in Norway, and in 25–44-year olds in Sweden. In males, a decline of the suicide rated lower than 10% was noted in 25–44 olds in Norway and in 15–64 year-olds in Sweden. Discussion A robust decrease was observed in the overall regional suicide rate in recent years. Exceptions are rising rates in Icelandic males, in Norwegian females, and the youngest female groups in all except Iceland. The small decline among middle-aged males in Norway and Sweden is of concern.

Public Surveillance of Social Media for Suicide Using Advanced Deep Learning Models in Japan: Time Series Study From 2012 to 2022.

Social media platforms have been increasingly used to express suicidal thoughts, feelings, and acts, raising public concerns over time. A large body of literature has explored the suicide risks identified by people's expressions on social media. However, there is not enough evidence to conclude that social media provides public surveillance for suicide without aligning suicide risks detected on social media with actual suicidal behaviors. Corroborating this alignment is a crucial foundation for suicide prevention and intervention through social media and for estimating and predicting suicide in countries with no reliable suicide statistics. This study aimed to corroborate whether the suicide risks identified on social media align with actual suicidal behaviors. This aim was achieved by tracking suicide risks detected by 62 million tweets posted in Japan over a 10-year period and assessing the locational and temporal alignment of such suicide risks with actual suicide behaviors recorded in national suicide statistics. This study used a human-in-the-loop approach to identify suicide-risk tweets posted in Japan from January 2013 to December 2022. This approach involved keyword-filtered data mining, data scanning by human efforts, and data refinement via an advanced natural language processing model termed Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers. The tweet-identified suicide risks were then compared with actual suicide records in both temporal and spatial dimensions to validate if they were statistically correlated. Twitter-identified suicide risks and actual suicide records were temporally correlated by month in the 10 years from 2013 to 2022 (correlation coefficient=0.533; P<.001); this correlation coefficient is higher at 0.652 when we advanced the Twitter-identified suicide risks 1 month earlier to compare with the actual suicide records. These 2 indicators were also spatially correlated by city with a correlation coefficient of 0.699 (P<.001) for the 10-year period. Among the 267 cities with the top quintile of suicide risks identified from both tweets and actual suicide records, 73.5% (n=196) of cities overlapped. In addition, Twitter-identified suicide risks were at a relatively lower level after midnight compared to a higher level in the afternoon, as well as a higher level on Sundays and Saturdays compared to weekdays. Social media platforms provide an anonymous space where people express their suicidal thoughts, ideation, and acts. Such expressions can serve as an alternative source to estimating and predicting suicide in countries without reliable suicide statistics. It can also provide real-time tracking of suicide risks, serving as an early warning for suicide. The identification of areas where suicide risks are highly concentrated is crucial for location-based mental health planning, enabling suicide prevention and intervention through social media in a spatially and temporally explicit manner.

Why are Suicides With Unknown Cause the Most Important Reason for Suicide? A Retrospective Study.

This study will help in determining national suicide prevention strategies. Moreover, understanding the reasons for the lack of awareness about completed suicide will strengthen the measures to be taken in this regard. It was determined that the most important rate among the causes 48 419 completed suicide in Turkey in the years 2004 to 2019 was the 22 645 (46.76%) suicides of unknown cause and there was not enough information about the underlying causes. Suicide statistics data of the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) between 2004 and 2019 were analyzed retrospectively in terms of geographical regions, gender, age groups and seasonality. Statistical analyses of the study were performed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences for Windows (IBM SPSS version 25.0, Armonk, NY, USA) software. It was determined that the highest crude rate of suicide during 16 years was in the Eastern Anatolia region, the lowest rate was in the Marmara region, and the ratio of the number of female suicides with unknown cause to the number of male suicides was higher in Eastern Anatolia than in other regions, the rate of unknown crude suicide in both genders was highest in the under 15 age group, this rate decreased as the age progressed, the lowest rate was in women with unknown age, the effect of the season was observed in women with unknown cause, but not in men. Between 2004 and 2019, suicides with unknown cause were the most important reason for suicide. We think that there may be geographical, gender, age, seasonal, sociocultural and economic factors that may affect this, national suicide prevention and planning strategies will be insufficient unless this issue is adequately examined, and institutional structures should be established, including psychiatrists, where deep forensic investigations can be carried out.

Assessment of the relationship between Google Trends search data and national suicide rates in Turkey

Objective: The present study aimed to examine possible relationships between suicide-related terms obtained from Google Trends and actual suicide data and whether these relationships differ according to sex. Materials and Methods: The study period was from 2009 to 2019. In this study, suicide data were collected from the suicide statistics of the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) for this timeframe. Google Trends was used to examine the search trends of suicide-related terms in Turkey. Pearson correlation analysis was used to find associations between the data obtained from TUIK and Google Trends. Finally, linear regression analysis was performed to identify predictors of monthly completed suicide rates in the general population. Results: In our study, 105 search terms obtained from Google Trends were examined to find associations with suicide rates in a specific timeframe. Among them, 31 terms had positive correlations, and nine had significant negative correlations. The terms "allergy" and "pain" were the most closely related to the overall suicide rates. Other significantly correlated terms were "how to commit suicide," "to commit suicide," "depression," and "hallucination." In addition, significantly different results were found for men and women. Conclusion: The present study showed that suicide-related terms obtained from Google Trends may predict actual suicide rates and may be an easy way to monitor suicide trends in Turkey. Future studies should use a more comprehensive internet network, including social media and other search engines, and consider other variables related to suicide to better understand this relationship.

Facilitating factors for seeking help for mental health problems among Norwegian adolescent males: A focus group interview study.

Young males are overrepresented in suicide statistics and underrepresented in statistics of help-seeking and receiving help from formal health services compared with young females. Few studies have examined facilitating factors for help-seeking among adolescent males with no previous experience seeking mental health help. This study aimed to explore thoughts, attitudes, and experiences regarding facilitating factors toward formal help-seeking for mental health problems among Norwegian adolescent males. Three focus group interviews were conducted, each including four adolescent males with no experience with help-seeking or receiving help from a help service for mental health problems. The interviews addressed topics such as barriers and facilitating factors for help-seeking and preferences regarding structural factors and modes of delivery of help. Data were analyzed according to the systematic text condensation method. The analysis revealed three main categories of facilitating factors: (1) transparent information and available help services, (2) proactive and outreaching help services, and (3) the possibility for discreet help-seeking. Improving help-seeking is integral to accessing care and improving mental health. Help services can be more accessible and approachable for male adolescents if they offer discretion, the possibility to remain anonymous, the option to receive help in a convenient context, and outreach services.

Suicidal ideation and behavior in youth in low- and middle-income countries: A brief review of risk factors and implications for prevention.

Although global rates of suicide have dropped in the last 30 years, youth in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) continue to be highly represented in suicide statistics yet underrepresented in research. In this review we present the epidemiology of suicide, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts among youth in LMICs. We also describe population-level (attitudes toward suicide, socioeconomic, and societal factors) and individual-level clinical and psychosocial risk factors, highlighting specific considerations pertaining to youth in LMICs. These specific considerations in risk factors within this population can inform how multi-level prevention strategies may be targeted to meet their specific needs. Prevention and intervention strategies relying on the stepped-care framework focusing on population-, community-, and individual level targets while considering locally- and culturally relevant practices are key in LMICs. In addition, systemic approaches favoring school-based and family-based interventions are important among youth. Cross-culturally adapted multimodal prevention strategies targeting the heterogeneity that exists in healthcare systems, suicide rates, and risk factors in these countries should be accorded a high priority to reduce the burden of suicide among youth in LMICs.

Coronial determination of suicide: insights from inquests

ABSTRACT The purpose of this article is to extend previous discussion of the relationship between coronial verdicts of suicide and suicide statistics, through a detailed examination of coronial decision-making during 130 inquests in Queensland, Australia between 2004 and 2018. This research suggests that the official category of suicide does not have the same meaning for different coroners, and it is unlikely that coroners follow the same rules in assigning particular cases to given categories. This is complicated by several factors: the feedback loops between researchers and coroners, where researchers rely on coronial data and coroners rely on research findings; beliefs about ‘suicide prone’ populations; and the role of coroners in offering closure for families and meaning for society. Suicide is a social fact, and how it is counted depends upon the norms, protocols and concepts operating within any given coroner’s court. We conclude that administrative options beyond the binary of suicide/not suicide would have the most impact on enabling suicide findings to be more consistent and defensible.