Total Suicide Rates Research Articles

Suicide rates in the national and expatriate population in Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Reports on suicide from the Gulf region are scarce. Dubai is a city with a large expatriate population. However, total and gender-specific suicide rates for the national and expatriate populations are not known. To investigate total and gender-specific suicide rates in the national and expatriate population in Dubai and to elicit socio-demographic characteristics of suicide victims. Registered suicides in Dubai from 2003 to 2009, and aggregated socio-demographic data of suicide victims were analysed. Suicide rates per 100,000 population were calculated. Suicide rate among expatriates (6.3/100,000) was seven times higher than the rate among the nationals (0.9/100,000). In both groups, male suicide rate was more than three times higher than the female rate. Approximately three out of four expatriate suicides were committed by Indians. The majority of suicide victims were male, older than 30 years, expatriate, single and employed, with an education of secondary school level and below. Further research on risk factors for and protective factors against suicide, particularly among the expatriate population, is needed. Epidemiological monitoring of suicide trends at the national level and improvement of UAE suicide statistics would provide useful information for developing suicide prevention strategies.

Temperature change dominates the suicidal seasonality in Taiwan: A time-series analysis

The arguments between bioclimatic and sociodemographic hypotheses for the suicidal seasonality continue. The present study aimed to examine the relationships between suicidal seasonality and the climate as well as the economic factors. The monthly suicide death rates of the total, male and female populations in Taiwan during January 1991-December 2010 were obtained from the population-based database. Autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA)/seasonal ARIMA (SARIMA) was used to analyze suicidal seasonality, with monthly ambient temperature, temperature increase, rainfall, sunlight, unemployment and labor force participation rates as the independent inputs. The models revealed that monthly temperature increase was strongly positively associated with seasonality of suicide rates of all populations (β=0.0184, P<0.001; β=0.0234, P=0.001; β=0.0145, P<0.001, respectively). Rainfall was significantly negatively associated with the total and male suicide rates (β=-0.0001, P=0.012; β=-0.0002, P=0.043, respectively), but not with female. Unemployment and labor force participation rates were not significantly related to their corresponding suicide rates. Socio-demographic data, individual major events, and subgroups by suicide methods were not taken into account. The results indicate that, as far as suicidal seasonality is concerned, monthly temperature increase is the most influential factor, and climatic factors have more significant effect than the economic factors.

Changes in mental health services and suicide mortality in Norway: an ecological study

BackgroundMental disorders are strongly associated with excess suicide risk, and successful treatment might prevent suicide. Since 1990, and particularly after 1998, there has been a substantial increase in mental health service resources in Norway. This study aimed to investigate whether these changes have had an impact on suicide mortality.MethodsWe used Poisson regression analyses to assess the effect of changes in five mental health services variables on suicide mortality in five Norwegian health regions during the period 1990-2006. These variables included: number of man-labour years by all personnel, number of discharges, number of outpatient consultations, number of inpatient days, and number of hospital beds. Adjustments were made for sales of alcohol, sales of antidepressants, education, and unemployment.ResultsIn the period 1990-2006, we observed a total of 9480 suicides and the total suicide rate declined by 26%. None of the mental health services variables were significantly associated with female or male suicide mortality in the adjusted analyses (p > 0.05). Sales of antidepressants (adjusted Incidence Rate Ratio = 0.98; 95% CI = 0.97-1.00) and sales of alcohol (adjusted IRR = 1.41; 95% CI = 1.18-1.72) were significantly associated with female suicide mortality; education (adjusted IRR = 0.86; 95% CI = 0.79-0.94) and unemployment (adjusted IRR = 0.91; 95% CI = 0.85-0.97) were significantly associated with male suicide mortality.ConclusionsThe adjusted analyses in the present study indicate that increased resources in Norwegian mental health services in the period 1990-2006 were statistically unrelated to suicide mortality.

S35-03 - Decreasing seasonality in suicide: A marker of more widespread treatment of depression?

The seasonal variation of suicide corresponds to the annual fluctuation of some indices of central serotonergic metabolism indicating significantly lower brain serotonergic activity in spring and summer. Low central serotonin metabolism is a strong biological correlate of some pathological behaviours, like depression, impulsivity and violent suicidal acts. Based on early findings suggesting that suicide seasonality might be the consequence of the seasonal incidence of depression-related suicides, we found that decreasing suicide seasonality might be a good marker of lowering rate of depressive suicides in the population. We recently analysed the relationship between increasing antidepressant utilization and national suicide rate of Hungary between 1998–2006, with particular regard to seasonal patterns and gender differences. Time trend analysis had been applied to investigate the correlation between trend of antidepressant prescription and both of suicide rates and seasonality index. During the 9 years of the study period there was a significant correlation between steadily increasing antidepressant prescription and continuous decline in total national suicide rate as well both in females and males, but this relationship was 8-fold stronger in males. Increasing antidepressant utilization was associated with significantly decreased seasonality of suicides only among males. As national suicide rates are affected by many factors the isolation of the result of better treatment of depression in declining suicide rates is not easy. Our results suggest that decreasing suicide seasonality could be a good marker of more widespread treatment of depression resulting in lowering rate of depression-related suicides in the population particularly among males.

Altitude, Gun Ownership, Rural Areas, and Suicide

The authors recently observed a correlation between state altitude and suicide rate in the United States, which could be explained by higher rates of gun ownership and lower population density in the intermountain West. The present study evaluated the relationship between mean county and state altitude in the United States and total age-adjusted suicide rates, firearm-related suicide rates, and non-firearm-related suicide rates. The authors hypothesized that altitude would be significantly associated with suicide rate. Elevation data were calculated with an approximate spatial resolution of 0.5 km, using zonal statistics on data sets compiled from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Suicide and population density data were obtained through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) WONDER database. Gun ownership data were obtained through the CDC's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. A significant positive correlation was observed between age-adjusted suicide rate and county elevation (r=0.51). Firearm (r=0.41) and non-firearm suicide rates (r=0.32) were also positively correlated with mean county elevation. When altitude, gun ownership, and population density are considered as predictor variables for suicide rates on a state basis, altitude appears to be a significant independent risk factor. This association may be related to the effects of metabolic stress associated with mild hypoxia in individuals with mood disorders.

Firearms regulation and declining rates of male suicide in Quebec

ObjectivesTo examine whether significant changes in method-specific male suicide rates occurred in the province of Quebec after stronger firearms regulations were introduced in Canada in 1991; to ascertain whether more...

The Media and Suicide: Evidence Based on Population Data over 9 Years in Taiwan

The relationship between the regional distribution densities of different media and the suicide death rate was explored by analyzing the annual total, male, and female suicide rates and media densities from 23 cities/counties in Taiwan during 1998-2006 by univariate and multivariate regression adjusted for five socioeconomic factors. The regional density of newspapers was significantly inversely related to the total, male, and female suicide rates, while that of television sets was not. The density of in-home personal computers was significantly positively related to the total and male suicide rates, but not the female suicide rate. The results indicate that media reporting on suicide can be beneficial, instead of harmful, depending on the content.

The Associations Between Infant Homicide, Homicide, and Suicide Rates: An Analysis of World Health Organization and Centers for Disease Control Statistics

Previous studies have found that rates of homicide of children aged under one (infant homicide) are associated with rates of suicide, but not with rates of homicide. Linear regression was used to examine associations among infant homicide, homicide, and suicide in samples of regions in the United States and other countries. Infant homicide rates were significantly and independently associated in all analyses with both total homicide and total suicide rates. The epidemiological evidence supports the clinical observation that infant homicides are due to a range of causes, including maternal mental illness, but are also related to the level of serious violence within a community.

Gender differences in antidepressant use-related seasonality change in suicide mortality in Hungary, 1998–2006

Objectives. Studies show that the seasonality of suicide (spring/early summer peak, winter low) is mainly the consequence of the seasonal incidence of depression-related suicides. The aim of the present study was to analyse the relationship between increasing antidepressant utilization and national suicide rate of Hungary between 1998 and 2006, with particular regard to seasonal patterns and gender differences. Methods. Time trend analysis (ARIMA) had been applied to investigate the correlation between the trend of antidepressant prescription and both of suicide rates and seasonality index. Results. During the 9 years of the study period there was a significant (P<0.001) correlation between the steadily increasing antidepressant prescription (113%) and continuous decline in total national suicide rate (23%) as well as both in females and males (21 and 23%, respectively), but this relationship was 8-fold stronger in males. Increasing antidepressant utilization was associated with significantly decreased seasonality of suicides only among males. Conclusions. The results suggest that decreasing seasonality of suicides could be a good marker of lowering rate of depression-related suicides in the population particularly among males.

Análise epidemiológica do suicídio no Brasil entre 1980 e 2006

The objective of this study was to carry out an epidemiological analysis of the suicide rates found in Brazilian regions and state capitals between 1980 and 2006. Data on mortality rates due to suicide were collected from the Departamento de Informática do Sistema Unico de Saúde (Information Technology Department of the Brazilian Public Health System--DATASUS). A total of 158,952 suicide cases were registered between 1980 and 2006, excluding those cases in which the individual was less than 10 years old (n = 68). In the period under study, the total suicide rate in Brazil increased from 4.4 to 5.7 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants (29.5%). Higher average rates were found in the South (9.3) and Central-West (6.1) regions. Men were more likely to commit suicide. The highest suicide rates were found in the 70-years or above age range while the highest increases were found in the 20 to 59 year age bracket. The most dominant social-demographic characteristics of the persons who committed suicide in the period under study were low educational level and singlehood. The most common methods of suicide were hanging, fire arms and poisoning. Although in Brazil the rate increased 29.5% in 26 years, the national rate is still considered to be low when compared to worldwide suicide rates (average of 4.9 per 100,000 inhabitants). Suicide rates in Brazilian regions vary broadly, ranging from 2.7 to 9.3.

Suicide and marital status in Northern Ireland

Studies show marriage to be protective against suicide though with variation in the extent to which suicide rates are higher among the never married, separated or divorced and widowed. We examined suicide in Northern Ireland by marital status and examined whether the observed variation differed by sex and age. Data relating to all 1,398 suicide deaths (ICD-9 E950-959 and ICD-10 X60-84) registered in 1996-2005 were analysed using Poisson regression. The total, male and female age-standardised suicide rates were 8.4, 13.6 and 3.3 per 100,000, respectively. Never marrying increased male suicide risk and its effect increased with age (incidence rate ratio (IRR) among 20-34 year-olds = 1.47, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.19-1.84; IRR among over 55 year-olds = 2.33, 95% CI = 1.55-3.50). Never marrying was a risk factor for women only if aged 20-34 years (IRR = 3.05, 95% CI = 1.70-5.47). Among over 55 year-olds, widowhood increased risk of male suicide only (IRR = 2.47, 95% CI = 1.64-3.70) whereas divorce was associated with an almost threefold increase in male (IRR = 2.61, 95% CI = 1.39-4.88) and female (IRR = 2.57, 95% CI = 0.89-7.42) suicide relative to married persons. The effect of divorce was far more pronounced in 20-34 year-old men (IRR = 5.59, 95% CI = 3.58-8.67) and women (IRR = 9.46, 95% CI = 3.81-23.37). In Northern Ireland, marriage protects both sexes against suicide though men more so than women. Divorced young men, in particular, are a population at high risk of suicide.

Firearm Suicide Among Veterans in the General Population: Findings From the National Violent Death Reporting System

Military veterans are particularly vulnerable to suicide compared with their civilian peers. Scant attention has been devoted to the problem of firearm suicide among veterans, particularly women. The purpose of this study was to examine the rate, prevalence, and relative odds of firearm use among veteran suicide decedents in the general population. The analyses are based on data derived from 28,534 suicide decedents from the 2003 to 2006 National Violent Death Reporting System. Across the age groups, male and female veterans had higher firearm suicide rates than nonveterans. Among males and females, younger veterans (18-34 years) had the highest firearm and total suicide rates. The male and female veteran suicide decedents were, respectively, 1.3 and 1.6 times more likely to use firearms relative to nonveterans after adjusting for age, marital status, race, and region of residence. Although violent death and the use of firearms are generally associated with men, the results reported here suggest that firearms among female veterans deserve particular attention among health professionals within and outside the veterans affairs system. In addition, the focus should not be exclusively on the Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom military cohort but also on men and women who served in earlier combat theaters, including the Gulf war, Vietnam Era, Korean Conflict, and World War II.

A closer look at the increase in suicide rates in South Korea from 1986–2005

BackgroundSuicide rates have recently been decreasing on average among OECD countries, but increasing trends have been detected in South Korea, particularly since the 1997 economic crisis. There have been no detailed analyses about the changes of the suicide rates over time periods in Korea. We examined trends in both absolute and proportional suicide rates over the time period of economic development, crisis, and recovery (1986 – 2005) as well as in birth cohorts from 1924 to 1978.MethodsWe used data on total mortality and suicide rates from 1986 to 2005 published online by the Korean National Statistical Office (NSO) and extracted data for individuals under 80 years old. The analyses of the trends for 1) the sex-age-specific total mortality rate, 2) the sex-age-specific suicide rate, and 3) the sex-age-specific proportional suicide rate in 1986–2005 were conducted. To demonstrate the birth cohort effect on the proportional suicide rate, the synthetic birth cohort from 1924 to 1978 from the successive cross-sectional data was constructed.ResultsAge standardized suicide rates in South Korea increased by 98% in men (from 15.3 to 30.3 per 100,000) and by 124% in women (from 5.8 to 13.0 per 100,000). In both genders, the proportional increase in suicide rates was more prominent among the younger group aged under 45, despite the absolute increase being attributed to the older group. There were distinct cohort effects underlying increasing suicide rates particularly among younger age groups.ConclusionIncreasing suicide rates in Korea was composed of a greater absolute increase in the older group and a greater proportional increase in the younger group.

The Effect of Catalytic Converter Legislation on Suicide Rates in Grampian and Scotland 1980–2003

To examine the effect of catalytic converter legislation on suicide rates in Grampian and Scotland since its implementation in 1993. (1) Population study in Grampian and Scotland using national population and mortality statistics for 1980 to 2003. (2) Retrospective, controlled cohort study of individualswho had unsuccessfully attempted suicide by motor had unsuccessfully attempted suicide by motor vehicle exhaust gassing to examine the theory of method substitution. method substitution. There was a significant fall in suicides by motor vehicle exhaust gas inhalation in Scotland and Grampian following the introduction of compulsory catalytic converter legislation. However, in the same time period, there was a significant increase in numbers of suicides by hanging and total suicide rates in Scotland. There was a non-significant trend in a small sample of patients from a local hyperbaric unit for an increased rate of subsequent completed suicide between those who had previously attempted suicide by motor vehicle exhaust gas inhalation and controls. Catalytic converter legislation has resulted in a decrease in the number of suicides by motor vehicle exhaust gas inhalation. Overall suicide rates have not decreased. There is evidence to suggest that those who would have previously committed suicide by motor vehicle exhaust gas inhalation find alternative methods of suicide, so called 'method substitution'. Initiatives to reduce suicide rates should be directed at those means that are used by impulsive suicide attempters, as other, determined individuals, will commit suicide by another method.

Consistency in Suicide Rates in Twenty-Two Developed Countries by Gender over Time 1874–78, 1974–76, and 1998–2000

To determine whether the relative levels of suicide rates among the 22 developed countries were consistent over time 1974–76 v 2000–02 and to compare Durkheim's 11 European countries 1874–78 with their modern counterparts, including the 1984–86 period associated with the European recession. Data from the WHO of All Age “General Population Suicide Rates” (GPSR) by sex were calculated to obtain 3-year averages for the end-points. To determine the consistency of the levels of suicides a series of Spearman Rank Order correlations are calculated for each period. Highly significant correlations are found for men, women and total suicide rates between 1974–76 and 1998–2000, and for the Durkheim countries for the three review periods, indicating despite within-national variations over time, the relative rates between countries was consistent. This consistency suggests a certain national “suicide tradition” based on a complex interaction between cultural, sociological, recording/administrative, and genetic factors.

Alcohol Factors in Suicide Mortality Rates in Manitoba

To identify alcohol-related factors that influence mortality rates from suicide. We examined the impact of per capita consumption of total alcohol, spirits, beer, and wine; unemployment rate; and Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) membership rate on total, male and female suicide mortality rates in Manitoba during 1976 to 1997. Time series analyses with autoregressive integrated moving average modelling were applied to total, male and female suicide rates. The analyses performed included total alcohol consumption, spirits consumption, beer consumption, and wine consumption. Missing AA membership data were interpolated with cubic splines. Total alcohol consumption, and consumption of beer, spirits, and wine individually, were significantly and positively related to female suicide mortality rates. Spirits and wine were positively related to total and male mortality rates. AA membership rates were negatively related to total and female suicide rates. Unemployment rates were positively related to male and total suicide rates. The data confirm the important relations between per capita consumption measures and suicide mortality rates. Additionally, the results for AA membership rates are consistent with the hypothesis that AA membership and alcohol abuse treatment can exert beneficial effects observable at the population level.

Cross-National Social Ecology of Intelligence and Suicide Prevalence: Integration, Refinement, and Update of Studies

This study integrates, refines, and updates previous findings pertaining to positive ecologic (population-level) associations between intelligence and suicide prevalence across nations by using corrected and revised national IQ estimates and, further, a quality-of-human-conditions index, both recently published by Lynn and Vanhanen. Across a global 85-nation sample of sex-specific total suicide rates and a Eurasian 48-nation sample of sex-specific elderly suicide rates, these were positively associated with updated national IQ estimates. The associations were stronger for the general population than for elderly persons, independent of the quality of human conditions, and notedly stronger in exponential fitting of suicide rates with national IQ than in linear fitting, thereby indicating that shifts or differences in national IQ correspond to proportional, not absolute, changes in suicide rates. Implications of these findings and the question of generalizability of such associations to the individual level are discussed.

A Further Test of the Finno-Ugrian Suicide Hypothesis: Correspondence of County Suicide Rates in Romania and Population Proportion of Ethnic Hungarians

Across the 42 counties of Romania, the total suicide rate and the population percentage of ethnic Hungarians were strongly positively interrelated (79% attributable variance). Counties with the strongest Hungarian minority had suicide rates converging to (or exceeding) the suicide rate for Hungary, which rate is high. Of a set of about 20 vital statistics and socioeconomic indicators, only life expectancy predicted a significant increment of further variance in the suicide rates. However, this effect was small, adding merely 3% further variance explained to 79% already accounted for. Overall, the findings are supportive of the Finno-Ugrian Suicide Hypothesis, i.e., the notion that geographic patterns of suicide prevalence may be partially due to genetic differences between populations. Supplemental analyses of a questionnaire item which specifically queried this study's main finding indicated widespread disbelief of this fact of suicide prevalence across a variety of samples, including two samples from Romania.

Regional Intelligence and Suicide Rate: New Data for Australia and a Synthesis of Research

Previous research has shown for the most part positive correlations between intelligence and suicide prevalence on the national level. However, this study found proxies for regional intelligence in Australia (international average domain scores from the PISA 2000 study) to be significantly negatively correlated with the total, male, and female suicide rates of the different administrative divisions of Australia, and this finding was independent of regional wealth. A research synthesis of the current results and those from similar studies of other countries (positive correlations for Austria, Belarus, The British Isles, Denmark, and The Netherlands; inconclusive findings for France, Germany, and the USA) was conducted. This synthesis of research findings showed that positive ecological correlations of intelligence with suicide rate were more likely observed for nations with higher suicide rates and poorer general living conditions, whereas there was no relation with national IQ.

Testing the Finno-Ugrian Suicide Hypothesis: Replication and Refinement with Regional Suicide Data from Eastern Europe

Multiple lines of evidence indicate specific genetic contributions to suicidal behavior. In particular, geographic studies support the Finno-Ugrian Suicide Hypothesis, i.e., genetic differences between populations may partially account for geographic patterns of suicide prevalence. Specifically, within Europe the high suicide-rate nations constitute a contiguous J-shaped belt. The present research replicated and extended 2003 findings of Voracek, Fisher, and Marusic with new data. Across 37 European nations, an interaction term of squared latitude multiplied with longitude (quantifying the J-shaped belt) accounted for 32% of the cross-national variance in total suicide rates alone, while latitude accounted merely for 18% of variance over and above those. Refined analysis included regional data from countries critical for testing the hypothesis (89 regions of Belarus, western Russia, and the Ukraine) and yielded an even more clear-cut pattern (56% and 3.5%, respectively). These results are consistent with the Finno-Ugrian Suicide Hypothesis. Study limitations and directions for further research are discussed.