Suicide Trends Research Articles

Spatiotemporal analysis of suicide attempts in Colombia from 2018 to 2020.

Suicide is one of the leading death causes worldwide, mainly among young adults, and Colombia has experienced an increase during the XXI century. The suicide impact has diverged between age groups and locations in Colombia, where young adults have taken higher incidences than the other age groups. The COVID-19 lockdown induced changes in mental health, affecting the previous suicide trends in the country. We conducted a spatiotemporal analysis of suicide attempts in Colombia per age group, adopting Bayesian models that represent 85,526 individual records in 1,121 municipalities from 2018 to 2020 using R-INLA. We found that Colombia exhibited an increase in suicide-attempt incidence from 2018 to 2019, and suddenly, the incidence fell in the first semester of 2020. The fixed effect of the models evidenced the highest risk in overall municipalities per trimester in the age group between 15-19 years old. The spatial random effect per model evidenced municipalities with the highest risk in the age groups between 10 to 59 years, mainly in the states in the Andean region of Colombia, and other states such as Putumayo, Vaupés, Arauca, Córdoba, Amazonas, and Meta. The temporal random effect evidenced a decay in suicide trends from the fourth trimester of 2019 to 2020, except in the age group > 59 years old. Geographically, our study pinpointed specific regions in Colombia, particularly in the central, southwest, and southeast areas, where the incidence of suicide attempts exceeded 100 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. The nuanced breakdown of incidence across different age groups further underscores the importance of tailoring preventive strategies based on age-specific and regional risk factors.

Understanding the Fluctuations in Korea's Suicide Rates: A Change-Point Analysis and Interrupted Time Series Analysis.

Korea has witnessed significant fluctuations in its suicide rates in recent decades, which may be related to modifications in its death registration system. This study aimed to explore the structural shifts in suicide trends, as well as accidental and ill-defined deaths in Korea, and to analyze the patterns of these changes. We analyzed age-adjusted death rates for suicides, deaths due to transport accidents, falls, drowning, fire-related incidents, poisonings, other external causes, and ill-defined deaths in Korea from 1997 to 2021. We identified change-points using the 'breakpoints' function from the 'strucchange' package and conducted interrupted time series analyses to assess trends before and after these change-points. Korea's suicide rates had three change-points in February 2003, September 2008, and June 2012, characterized by stair-step changes, with level jumps at the 2003 and 2008 change-points and a sharp decline at the 2012 change-point. Notably, the 2003 and 2008 spikes roughly coincided with modifications to the death ascertainment process. The trend in suicide rates showed a downward slope within the 2003-2008 and 2008-2012 periods. Furthermore, ill-defined deaths and most accidental deaths decreased rapidly through several change-points in the early and mid-2000s. The marked fluctuations in Korea's suicide rate during the 2000s may be largely attributed to improvements in suicide classification, with potential implications beyond socio-economic factors. These findings suggest that the actual prevalence of suicides in Korea in the 2000s might have been considerably higher than officially reported.

Examining Suicide Trends and Psychosocial Correlations in Georgia: An Epidemiological Analysis from 2017 to 2022

Examining Suicide Trends and Psychosocial Correlations in Georgia: An Epidemiological Analysis from 2017 to 2022

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.

Suicide trends in Denmark-An ecological study exploring suicide methods from 1995 to 2019.

Suicide is a major public health problem and complex phenomenon, affecting many people around the world. However, the incidence of suicide varies by sex and age, which includes differences in the means used. Therefore, to implement effective preventative interventions, it is important to study these differences to design effective, preventative interventions. This study investigates the trends in suicide rates in Denmark from 1995 to 2019 by analysing changes based on sex, age, and the means used for suicide. Data on all suicide deaths in the study period were extracted from the Danish Register of Causes of Death, and data on the background population were obtained from Statistics Denmark. We used negative binomial regression models to analyse the data, and the obtained estimates as a logarithm of the rate ratios allowed us to compare the results across groups and years. An overall decline in Danish suicide rates was observed during the study period, with the exception of young females aged 15-29 years. The demographic composition did not change significantly, and suicide rates are still highest for males and the elderly aged 60+. Hanging, self-poisoning and firearms remain the most prevalent means of suicide. Suicide prevention initiatives are required, especially interventions targeting males and the elderly. Restricting access to the means of suicide for these groups with high fatality rates may help reduce the overall suicide rate. Moreover, more research is needed to understand the factors that lead to suicide and affect the choice of means, which should also include studying the effects of different suicide prevention strategies on males and females from different age groups.

Comorbidity Depression and Self-destructive Behavior in Adolescence: Comparative Sex Analysis of Clinical Cases

Today, there is a trend of intentional self-harm, suicide and injury among teenagers. Doctors pay attention that among the reasons for this situation are the depressed state of society, cruelty and indifference in the family, maladjustment in the educational institution, low neuropsychological stability of children and young people, inability to constructively solve personal problems, lack of sustainable interests and interesting organized leisure time, impossibility self-expression and self-realization, etc. The comorbid combination of depressive disorders (DD) and self-destructive behavior (SDB) in adolescence is one of the most important and global problems of modern clinical psychiatry. The gender specifics of such an aggravating variant of DD in boys and girls requires additional research. The objective: to analyze the sexual characteristics of DD in a comorbid combination with SDB in youth. Materials and methods. In the pilot study 48 boys and girls aged 15–18 years with DD (according to ICD-10) and manifestations of SDB were examined in outpatient clinic, namely: 11 (22.91%) boys and 37 (77.08%) girls. The patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9) was used in the study. Results. According to the results of the study, patients were diagnosed with different variants of clinical syndromes of DD. The level of severity of DD had no gender characteristics. Such syndromes as hysterical-depressive, depressive-hypochondriac, depressive-dysphoric syndrome were found only in girls. At the same time, hysterical-depressive syndrome occurred most often – in 29.2% of all cases in both groups. The results of the study indicate a tendency towards the predominance of bisexual identification among girls (21.6%) compared to 9.1% among boys. Conclusions. It has been proven that in youth DD have 100% comorbidity with SDB. The presented clinical cases demonstrated severe DD in youth, taking into account gender characteristics. The significant predominance of depressive-obsessive and anxiety-depressive syndromes in young men is an important factor in the comorbid development of SDB (suicidal activity) in these patients.

Modern suicide trend from internet

IntroductionThe most common suicide methods vary slightly from country to country, partly related to the availability of effective means. Societal development over the years and especially the advent of the Internet has enabled the sudden spread of new suicide methods. Recently, especially since 2019, intentional sodium nitrite poisoning has appeared on many social networks as an increasingly popular method of suicide. Material and MethodsThere was performed a retrospective-prospective study of the autopsy protocols of the Medico-Legal Departments of the Healthcare Surveillance Authority in Slovakia, in a period of 15 years (2008–2022). We performed the analysis of cases of death due to nitrite poisoning, focusing on cases of intentional self-harm. In all selected cases, we present complete information, including photo documentation from the place of death, as well as the results of the performed autopsy and the results of additional laboratory examinations. ResultsWe did not record any fatal cases of unintentional, accidental consumption of sodium nitrite in Slovakia, nor any fatal cases of homicidal poisoning by this substance. However, there were three cases of intentional self-harm (completed suicide) by sodium nitrite poisoning (in 2019, 2020 and 2022). ConclusionsThe correct diagnosis of the cases of sodium nitrite poisoning deaths is possible only based on evaluating all the information obtained, a thorough examination of the body and the crime scene, and the correct interpretation of the findings found during a subsequent autopsy and the results of the toxicological analysis.

Trends in Suicide Among Black Women in the United States, 1999-2020.

Trends in Suicide Among Black Women in the United States, 1999-2020.

National Trends in Suicides and Male Twin Live Births in the US, 2003 to 2019: An Updated Test of Collective Optimism and Selection in Utero.

Prior research based on Swedish data suggests that collective optimism, as measured by monthly incidence of suicides, correlates inversely with selection in utero against male twins in a population. We test this finding in the US, which reports the highest suicide rate of all high-income countries, and examine whether monthly changes in overall suicides precede changes in the ratio of male twin to male singleton live births. Consistent with prior work, we also examine as a key independent variable, suicides among women aged 15-49 years. We retrieved monthly data on suicides and the ratio of male twin to singleton live births from CDC WONDER, 2003 to 2019, and applied Box-Jenkins iterative time-series routines to detect and remove autocorrelation from both series. Results indicate that a 1% increase in monthly change in overall suicides precedes a 0.005 unit decline in male twin live births ratio 6 months later (coefficient = -.005, p value = .004). Results remain robust to use of suicides among reproductive-aged women as the independent variable (coefficient = -.0012, p value = .014). Our study lends external validity to prior research and supports the notion that a decline in collective optimism corresponds with greater selection in utero.

National trends in sadness and suicidality and pandemic-related risk factors among Korean adolescents from 2005 to 2021

National trends in sadness and suicidality and pandemic-related risk factors among Korean adolescents from 2005 to 2021

External causes of death from death certificates in patients with dementia

AbstractBackgroundThe external causes of death, including unintentional injuries, falls, suicide, and complications of medical and surgical care, in dementia are not well‐established, particularly in rare dementias. We compared risk of death from specific external causes in patients with dementia and control participants.MethodThis was a nationwide population‐based cohort study in Sweden integrating 6 national registers from May 1, 2007, through December 31, 2018. We included all dementia patients aged 40 years or older identified from the Swedish Dementia Register‐SveDem and the national patient registry during the period and up to four control participants who were matched on the year of birth (± 3 years), sex and region of residence. Causes of death were obtained from death certificates compiled in the death registry. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of dementia on external cause‐specific mortality were calculated using Cox proportional models, adjusted for sociodemographic variables, comorbidity, and psychiatric disorders.ResultThe study cohort included 241 569 patients with dementia (99 380 men [41.1%]; mean [SD] age, 81.5 [8.5] years) and 794 562 control participants (352 295 men [44.3%]; mean [SD] age, 79.9 [8.6] years), over 3 871 433 person‐years. People with dementia presented higher incident rates for unintentional injuries and falls during old age, and suicide in middle aged dementia patients, while the reverse trend for suicide in dementia was observed after 75 years. The association varied according to time since diagnosis. Compared with control participants, people diagnosed with dementia had an adjusted HR of 2.66 (95% CI, 2.58‐2.74) for unintentional injuries, 2.10 (95% CI, 2.01‐2.20) for falls, 0.48 (95%CI, 0.40‐0.58) for suicide, 0.94 (95%CI, 0.89‐1.00) for complications of medical and surgical care, and 2.61 (95%CI, 2.04‐3.34) for other external causes. Compared with control participants, patients with frontotemporal dementia had the highest risk of unintentional injuries and falls, while participants with mixed dementia were less likely to die from suicide and complications of medical and surgical care.ConclusionSuicide risk screening in early‐onset dementia and early interventions for unintentional injuries and falls prevention in older patients with dementia should be provided.

Suicide trends in Germany during the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine

AimsThe later phase of the COVID-19 pandemic overlaps with geopolitical and economic consequences from the Ukraine war. Financial hardship and concerns about gas supply may add to pandemic factors and lead to increased suicide rates in Germany. MethodsAge- and sex-stratified suicide data from police crime statistics covering 35 % of the German population were used for an interrupted time-series analysis and for a projection of total German suicides in 2022. ResultsFor both sexes, a trend reversal from constant or declining suicide rates to an increase was observed. This increase is particularly pronounced in 2022 and mainly relates to the 60+ age group that is highly vulnerable to suicide. The projection of the overall German suicide rate is at a level last observed in 2015. ConclusionsThe key challenge now is to combat potential causes of this rise in suicide rates to avert the emerging upward trend.

50.4 Current Rates and Epidemiological Trends of Suicide in the United States: An Alarming Phenomena

50.4 Current Rates and Epidemiological Trends of Suicide in the United States: An Alarming Phenomena

Suicides in India

Introduction: Suicide is a mortality contributor to a major extent among young and economically productive populations. Current study aims to analyze the trend, causes, and modalities of suicides in India over the last decade. Methods: Retrospective observational study based on analysis of secondary data compiled from the National Crime Records Bureau, which is a national database maintained by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Results: The study included data related to suicides in India from 2012-2021. An increase in the number of suicides was noted from 135445 in 2012 to 164033 in 2021. The most common approach to committing suicide was found to be hanging over the years, increasing from 37% in 2012 to 57.05% in 2021. Persons resorting to poisoning, self-immolation, drowning, and coming under running vehicles have decreased from 2012-2021. The majority of suicide victims contributed to 65.31% and 72.53% of suicides in 2012and 2021, respectively. The highest percentage of suicide victims over the years was found to be the age group of 18-30 years (34%) which is closely followed by the 30-45 years age group. Family problems have been the most common cause of suicide from 2012 (25.6%) to 2021 (33.2%), with a very slight decrease from 20.8% in 2012 to 18.6% in 2021. Conclusion: The burden of suicide has not shown any decline in last decade. There is a need for multisectoral intervention to reduce the burden of suicides, involving all the stakeholders, including government, family, community, educational institutions, and health care providers. Keywords: Suicide, Suicide Rate, Public Health, National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Secondary Data.

Suicide among Indigenous peoples in Brazil from 2000 to 2020: a descriptive study

Previous studies in Australia, Canada, and Brazil, found that suicide among ethnic minority groups is higher than in the general population. Indigenous peoples in Brazil have been reported to have a high suicide rate, with reports of suicide clusters occurring in several communities. The objective of this study was to report trends in countrywide suicide rates among Indigenous peoples in Brazil between 2000 and 2020, and to compare these with the non-Indigenous population. This ecological study used Indigenous suicide data collected from all regions of Brazil during a 21-year period, between 2000 and 2020. We used suicide estimates from the Mortality Information System (SIM), available at the Brazilian Health Ministry website (DATASUS). Suicide mortality rates by state and region were calculated using the estimated Indigenous population from the 2010 census, and estimated population proportions for the other years. We performed a trend analysis and compared trends in suicide between the Indigenous and non-Indigenous population during the period studied. Suicide rates among Indigenous Brazilians have reached more than two and a half times the levels for the overall Brazilian population in 2020 (17.57 suicide deaths versus 6.35 suicide deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, respectively). The Central-West region of Brazil had the highest suicide rates among Indigenous Brazilians over the study period, reaching 58.8 deaths/100,000 inhabitants in 2008. The younger age group (10-24 years old) had the highest suicide rates for all the years studied. Time-series analyses showed a trend of statistically significant increases in suicide rates in Brazil for both the Indigenous and non-Indigenous population during the study period. The North region, and specifically Amazonas state, has shown a decisive increase in suicide rates among the Indigenous populations. The suicide rate for Indigenous people in Brazil, excluding cases in Amazonas and Mato Grosso do Sul states, were similar to those for the entire Brazilian population, showing that the Indigenous peoples who are the most vulnerable to suicide reside in these locations. While there were statistically significant increases in suicide rates for all Brazilians over the study period, they remained alarmingly high among Indigenous people, compared to their non-Indigenous counterparts. The high suicide rates among Indigenous people, and younger individuals in particular (aged between 10 and 24), reinforces the need for specific prevention strategies for these populations. Further studies should be concentrated on determining risk factors in distinct ethnic groups, specifically within regions experiencing an elevated risk, such as the states of Amazonas and Mato Grosso do Sul. Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health of the National Institutes of Health under award number R01MH128911-01. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

The re‐emerging suicide crisis in the U.S.: Patterns, causes and solutions

AbstractThe suicide rate in the United States has risen nearly 40% since 2000. This increase is puzzling because suicide rates had been falling for decades at the end of the 20th century. In this paper, we review important facts about the changing rate of suicide. General trends do not tell the story of important differences across groups—suicide rates rose substantially among middle‐aged persons between 2005 and 2015 but have fallen since. Among young people, suicide rates began a rapid rise after 2010 that has not abated. We review empirical evidence to assess potential causes for recent changes in suicide rates. The economic hardship caused by the Great Recession played an important role in rising suicide among prime‐aged Americans. Among those under 25, nearly all the increase in suicide mortality during the 2010s can be explained by an increase in the prevalence of depression. Bullying victimization of LGBTQ youth could also account for part of the rise in suicide. The evidence that access to firearms or opioids are major drivers of recent suicide trends is less clear. We end by summarizing evidence on the most promising policies to reduce suicide mortality.

Suicide Among Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Veterans: Rates and Methods, 2005–2019

Knowledge of suicide rates and methods among Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Veterans remains sparse. Age- and sex-specific suicide rates, methods, and trends were examined among AANHPI Veterans and were compared with findings reported for all Veterans. For this population-based retrospective cohort study, average annual suicide rates (2005-2019) were computed in 2023 using population (U.S. Veterans Eligibility Trends and Statistics) and mortality (National Death Index [NDI]) data. The cohort included 416,454 AANHPI Veterans (356,146 males, 60,229 females) separated from military service and alive as of 1/1/2005. Suicide was determined from NDI underlying cause-of-death ICD-10 codes. The age-adjusted average annual suicide rate among AANHPI Veterans increased 36.85% from 2005-2009 to 2015-2019 (2015-2019: 30.97/100,000). Relative to other ages, 2015-2019 suicide rates were highest among AANHPI Veterans 18-34 (overall: 53.52/100,000; males: 58.82/100,000; females: 32.24/100,000) and exceeded those of similarly aged Veterans in the overall Veteran population (overall: 44.71/100,000; males: 50.59/100,000; females: 19.24/100,000). The sex difference in suicide rates was lower among AANHPI Veterans than in Veterans overall (relative risk [males to females]=1.65 and 2.33, among those 18-54). Firearms were used less and suffocation more among AANHPI Veterans, relative to Veterans overall. Suicide among AANHPI Veterans is an increasing public health concern, with younger males and females at particularly elevated risk. Lethal means safety strategies for AANHPI Veterans should consider distinctions in suicide methods compared to the overall Veteran population. Research is warranted to understand the lower magnitude sex difference in suicide rates among AANHPI Veterans.

Impact of pesticide regulations on mortality from suicide by pesticide in China: an interrupted time series analysis.

Pesticide bans and regulatory restrictions have been shown to be effective strategies for preventing suicide in several countries. Suicide and suicide by pesticides have decreased significantly in China over the past two decades. However, whether the reduction was associated with pesticide regulation is unknown. The monthly data on suicide and suicide by pesticide from 2006 to 2018 were obtained from China's Disease Surveillance Point (DSP) system. Information on China's pesticide regulations since 1970 was obtained from Pesticide Action Network International (PAN International), Joint Meeting on Pesticide Management Highly Hazardous Pesticides (JMPM HHP) lists, the website of the Ministry of Agriculture of China, Pesticide Information Network of China, and the Wan Fang database. Change point detection and policy analysis were combined to identify the time of any trend change breakpoint of suicide and suicide by pesticide. Interrupted time series analysis was used to investigate the pre- and post-breakpoint trends of monthly standardized rates in suicide and suicide by pesticide. The standardized pesticide suicide rate decreased by 60.5% from 6.50 in 2006 to 2.56 per 100,000 in 2018. Larger declines were evident among people in urban areas (67.3%), female individuals (63.5%), and people aged 15-44 years (68.1%). The effect of policies banning highly hazardous organophosphorus pesticides (HHOP) [rate ratio (RR) = 0.993, 95% CIs (0.991-0.994)] in December 2008 and stopping domestic sales and use of paraquat aqueous solution (RR = 0.992, 95% CIs: 0.990-0.994) in July 2016 were more pronounced than regulating the paraquat-related products (RR = 1.003, 95% CIs: 1.002-1.004) in April 2012. Declines in suicide by pesticide in China occurred contemporaneously with regulatory bans and restrictions implemented on several pesticides, particularly in urban areas, among female individuals, and the relatively low age profile. These findings indicate the potential influence of these bans on trends of suicide by pesticides.

Trends in Suicide Rates Among Post-9/11 US Military Veterans With and Without Traumatic Brain Injury From 2006-2020

This cohort study examines trends in suicide rates for veterans with and without traumatic brain injury compared with the US adult population.

A Bibliometric Analysis of Global Research Trends on Suicidal Ideation.

Suicide cases have increased drastically over the years, while the upsurge has inevitably spiked society's concerns. Suicidal behaviours such as suicidal ideation have received special attention from professionals due to the harmful and irreversible consequences of possible suicide attempts. There is increasing concern that a more complete understanding of suicidal ideation trends is necessary to achieve scientific insights into suicidal behaviours through future integrated advanced research efforts. Thus, this paper aims to observe research patterns through publication outputs and co-authorships among authors and affiliated countries, besides co-occurrences of author keywords from the Scopus database. Using 'suicidal ideation' as the keyword on Scopus, this bibliometric analysis explored the global pattern of suicidal ideation research published between 1960 and 2020 and retrieved 3,061 records. Seven out of 15 most productive universities from the world's top 100 best universities were found in the leading countries lists. The United States was found as dominating the research area with 80% of the publications. In conclusion, the study found that researchers have made significant progress in the research area of suicidal ideation over the years; however, the topic still warrants further analysis to understand suicidality from a broader perspective.