Although the global suicide death rate has decreased, in the American continent has increased since 2000according to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), which urged improving prevention through a better understanding of the factors surrounding the population that resorts to taking their own lives.
Against this trend, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and its partners published this Thursday in the medical journal The Lancet a new study highlighting the importance of take into account the social determinants of suicide according to the sex of the people in order to develop appropriate risk reduction plans and preventive strategies.
The analysis indicates that in the period 2000-2019 homicide and the consumption of alcohol and other substances were elements associated with suicide among men, while in the case of women educational inequality stood out as the main factor. Unemployment was another variable associated with the increase in suicides in both sexes.
You need to go beyond limiting access to methods
Dr. Renato Oliveira e Souza, PAHO’s Chief of Mental Health and Substance Use, explained that to prevent suicide, it is necessary to go beyond limiting access to methods to commit it, strengthening socio-emotional skills and improving access to mental health care.
“Also we must address contextual factors that affect men and women differentlywhich requires a whole-of-society approach,” added Oliveira e Souza, one of the study’s authors.
For PAHO, increased employment opportunities and improved access to and capacity of health services, including those related to substance use, could reduce suicide death rates. “Boosting social connections in rural and sparsely populated areas is also a recommended suicide prevention strategy,” the publication notes.
More men than women commit suicide
The report details that 79% of suicides in America occur among men, but clarifies that suicide among women has also increased. In 2019, more than 97,000 suicides were registered on the continent.
The study also reveals that the average suicide rate among men in the region decreased as per capita health spending grew, while that of women fell in line with the increase in the number of doctors for every 10,000 inhabitants. The figures also highlighted the urgency of supporting people living in isolated rural areas.
Variation by subregions
PAHO specified that the suicide mortality rate varied considerably by subregion, with North America in the lead (14.1 suicides per 100,000 inhabitants) and the Andean region with the lowest rate (3.9 suicides per 100,000 inhabitants). The health agency attributes the disparity to sociocultural differences between societies.
Regarding the countries, the study reported differences ranging from 0.3 suicides per 100,000 inhabitants, in Barbados, to 65 suicides per 100,000 inhabitants in Guyana.
In this regard, Dr. Shannon Lange, a scientist at the Institute for Mental Health Policy Research of Canada and lead author of the analysis, said that since cultural expectations around gender largely determine the difference in suicides by sex, prevention programs should include multisectoral health and social welfare measures.
PAHO offers the countries of the region technical cooperation for suicide prevention through effective interventions and comprehensive national responses.
