Trend in the Prevalence of Non-Daily Smoking and Their Relationship with Mental Health Using the Korea Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Self-reported suicidal behaviours and associated factors in the general population of Latvia (2010-2018)

BACKGROUND

Latvia has the second highest suicide rate in the European Union - with a total population age-standardized suicide rate of 16.1 per 100,000 inhabitants.

AIMS

We aimed to assess the prevalence of different types of self-reported suicidal behaviours in Latvia and determine the associated sociodemographic and health-related factors.

METHODS

This study was based on secondary data obtained from the Health Behaviour Among Latvian Adult Population survey. A representative sample of the general population was used, aged 15 to 64 years in 2010, 2012, 2014; and 15 to 74 years in 2016 and 2018 (n = 16,084). Respondents were asked to report the occurrence of life weariness, death wishes, suicidal ideation, suicidal plans and suicide attempts during the previous year. We assessed socio-demographics and health-related factors associated with suicidality. We performed univariate analysis and constructed stepwise multivariate logistic regression models.

RESULTS

In 2010 to 2018, 15.6% of responders reported some type of suicidal behaviour (95% CI [15.1, 16.2]). Sociodemographic factors - including non-cohabitation status and Latvian nationality - were associated with mild (life-weariness and death wishes) and serious (suicidal ideation, plans to commit suicide, suicide attempts) types of behaviour. Older age was associated with mild suicidal behaviours, whereas lower educational levels were associated with serious suicidal behaviours. Diagnosed depression, self-reported depression, self-reported anxiety, stress, low mood, alcohol intake habits with heavy drinking episodes (less than monthly, monthly and weekly), perceived health as average or below average, disuse of primary health services were associated with mild and serious types of suicidal behaviour. Current smoking status and absenteeism were associated with mild suicidal behaviour types. Self-reported insomnia, having at least two somatic diagnoses, occasional smoking status, absenteeism with 11 or more days in the last year, receiving disability pension were associated with serious suicidal behaviour types. Musculoskeletal diseases exhibited preventive effects.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings indicate that certain groups of individuals might exhibit greater vulnerability to suicidality.

Do Financial Literacy and Financial Education Influence Smoking Behavior in the United States?

Smoking is still a serious economic, health, and social problem despite various efforts to curb its prevalence. We examined the influence of financial literacy and financial education on the smoking behavior in the United States in terms of the use of rational decision-making abilities to reduce irrational behavior. We hypothesized that financial literacy and financial education, as proxies for rational decision making, would reduce the likelihood of smoking. We used data from the Preference Parameters Study (PPS) of Osaka University conducted in the United States in 2010 and applied probit regression models to test our hypothesis on a sample of 3831 individuals. We found that financially literate people are less likely to be smokers, though we found no clear role of financial education in reducing the likelihood of smoking. Further, respondents' gender, age, unemployment status, and risky health behaviors such as drinking and gambling, have a significantly positive association with smoking, while marital status, university degree, family size, household income, household assets, physical exercise, and level of happiness have a significantly negative association. Our findings suggest that financial literacy, as an instrument encouraging rational decision making, could be a tool to help reduce smoking in the United States.