Associations Between the Macroeconomic Indicators and Suicide Rates in India: Two Ecological Studies

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on suicides: A population study

This study examines the factors associated with the change in the number of suicides per month during the COVID-19 pandemic from 2019 to 2021. For economic indicators, employment and unemployment rates, Consumer Price Index, and Consumer Sentiment Index were used. As inverse indicators of social distancing, the numbers of overseas departures, domestic trips, and movie audience were used. The monthly numbers of inpatients and outpatients for depression were included to consider the effect of the prevalence of depression. Pearson's correlation coefficient analysis and a linear regression were conducted. There was a continued decrease in the number of suicides of 1.7% in 2021 from 2020 following the 4.4% decrease in the previous year. The employment rate was positively associated with the number of suicides for males, while the consumer price index was negatively associated with the number of suicides for females. While the inverse social distancing measures were positively correlated with the number of suicides, no significant association was observed in the regression analysis. Commonly shared thoughts that the pandemic would lead to an increase in suicides by its direct negative impact on mental health or indirect impact through the aggravation of economic conditions and social distancing need to be re-examined.

The Monetary Value of Human Lives Lost to Suicide in the African Continent: Beating the African War Drums

Background: Suicide is an important public health problem in the African continent whose economic burden remains largely unknown. This study estimated the monetary value of human lives lost due to suicide in the African continent in 2017. Methods: The human capital approach was applied to monetarily value the years of life lost due to premature mortality from suicide deaths (SD) among 54 African countries. A 3% discount rate was used to convert future losses into their present values. The sensitivity of monetary value of human lives lost to changes in discount rate and average life expectancy was tested. Results: The 75,505 human lives lost from suicide had a grand total monetary value of International Dollars (Int$) 6,989,963,325; and an average present value of Int$ 92,576 per SD. About 31.1% of the total monetary value of SD was borne by high-income and upper-middle-income countries (Group 1); 54.4% by lower-middle-income countries (Group 2); and 14.5% by low-income countries (Group 3). The average monetary value per human life lost from SD was Int$ 234,244 for Group 1, Int$ 109,545 for Group 2 and Int$ 32,223 for Group 3. Conclusions: Evidence shows that suicide imposes a substantive economic burden on African economies. The evidence reinforces the case for increased investments to ensure universal coverage of promotive, preventive, curative and rehabilitative mental health services.

Suicide Overall and Suicide by Pesticide Rates among South Korean Workers: A 15-Year Population-Based Study

Suicide is a major public health concern in South Korea, and self-poisoning by pesticides is one of the common methods of suicide. Pesticide ban policies have been successful for suicide prevention; however, no studies have shown their effect according to occupational groups. The present study analyzed suicide and suicide by pesticide rates among South Korean workers aged 15–64 in 2003–2017, their associations with occupational groups, and the impact of three major economic indices on these factors. Workers in the agriculture, forestry, and fishery industries had relative risks of 5.62 (95% CI: 5.54–5.69) for suicide overall and 25.49 (95% CI: 24.46–26.57) for suicide by pesticide. The real gross domestic product had a positive association with suicide overall only in the last five-year period investigated in this study, and the unemployment rate consistently had a positive association. The economic status and policy for suicide prevention affected suicide and suicide by pesticide rates differently among occupational groups and different time periods. Policy addressing suicidal risk for different occupational groups should be of concern in South Korea.

Geographical and Temporal Variation of Suicide in India, 2006-2015: An Investigation of Factors Associated with Suicide Risk Difference across States/Union Territories

BACKGROUND

In India, about 130,000 people died by suicide in the year 2015. It is important to understand the variation of suicide across different parts of India and the trend of suicide rates over the years. The objectives of this study were to determine whether suicide rates in India showed temporal variation in the last decade and to determine whether suicide rates in India showed geographical variation across different states and union territories (UTs).

METHODS

Data on suicide rates for the years 2006-2015 were collected from the official publication of the National Crime Records Bureau. This study looked for time trend in suicide rates over the years. Further, the variation in suicide rates across different states/UTs in India and the factors associated with the variation were also analyzed.

RESULTS

The average suicide rate in India for the years 2006-2015 was 10.9/100,000 population. Overall, there was no significant variation in the suicide rate over time in the years studied. The average suicide rate varied widely across the states and UTs, between 0.91 and 43.92 per 100,000 population. The analysis revealed a positive association between suicide rates and accident rates for the above years. In addition, for the year 2011, a positive association between suicide rate and per capita state domestic product was noted.

CONCLUSION

There was no variation in the suicide rate in India over time. However, there were significant regional differences. Reporting differences and economic factors could partially explain the differences.