Relationship of suicide rates to economic variables in Europe: 2000–2011

It is unclear whether there is a direct link between economic crises and changes in suicide rates. The Lopez-Ibor Foundation launched an initiative to study the possible impact of the economic crisis on European suicide rates. Data was gathered and analysed from 29 European countries and included th...

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Published in:	British journal of psychiatry Vol. 205; no. 6; pp. 486 - 496
Main Authors:	Fountoulakis, Konstantinos N., Kawohl, Wolfram, Theodorakis, Pavlos N., Kerkhof, Ad J. F. M., Navickas, Alvydas, Höschl, Cyril, Lecic-Tosevski, Dusica, Sorel, Eliot, Rancans, Elmars, Palova, Eva, Juckel, Georg, Isacsson, Goran, Jagodic, Helena Korosec, Botezat-Antonescu, Ileana, Warnke, Ingeborg, Rybakowski, Janusz, Azorin, Jean Michel, Cookson, John, Waddington, John, Pregelj, Peter, Demyttenaere, Koen, Hranov, Luchezar G., Stevovic, Lidija Injac, Pezawas, Lucas, Adida, Marc, Figuera, Maria Luisa, Pompili, Maurizio, Jakovljević, Miro, Vichi, Monica, Perugi, Giulio, Andreassen, Ole, Vukovic, Olivera, Mavrogiorgou, Paraskevi, Varnik, Peeter, Bech, Per, Dome, Peter, Winkler, Petr, Salokangas, Raimo K. R., From, Tiina, Danileviciute, Vita, Gonda, Xenia, Rihmer, Zoltan, Benhalima, Jonas Forsman, Grady, Anne, Leadholm, Anne Katrine Kloster, Soendergaard, Susan, Nordt, Carlos, Lopez-Ibor, Juan
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01-12-2014 Maney
Subjects:	Adolescent Adult Adult and adolescent clinical studies Age Armed forces Biological and medical sciences Economic conditions Economic crisis Economic growth Economic Recession - statistics & numerical data Economic Recession - trends Europe - epidemiology Female GDP Gross Domestic Product Gross Domestic Product - statistics & numerical data Growth rate Humans Inflation Informal economy Internationality Labor force Male Medical sciences Medicin och hälsovetenskap Mental depression Mental disorders Mental health Middle Aged Mortality Per capita Population Psychiatry Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry Psychopathology. Psychiatry Public health Recessions Risk Factors Sex Factors Social capital Sociology Statistics as Topic Suicide Suicide - economics Suicide - statistics & numerical data Suicide - trends Suicides & suicide attempts Unemployment Unemployment - statistics & numerical data Women Europe Greece United States > US Suicide
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Summary:	It is unclear whether there is a direct link between economic crises and changes in suicide rates. The Lopez-Ibor Foundation launched an initiative to study the possible impact of the economic crisis on European suicide rates. Data was gathered and analysed from 29 European countries and included the number of deaths by suicide in men and women, the unemployment rate, the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, the annual economic growth rate and inflation. There was a strong correlation between suicide rates and all economic indices except GPD per capita in men but only a correlation with unemployment in women. However, the increase in suicide rates occurred several months before the economic crisis emerged. Overall, this study confirms a general relationship between the economic environment and suicide rates; however, it does not support there being a clear causal relationship between the current economic crisis and an increase in the suicide rate.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Undefined-1 ObjectType-Feature-3 content type line 23 ObjectType-Article-1 ObjectType-Feature-2
ISSN:	0007-1250 1472-1465 1472-1465
DOI:	10.1192/bjp.bp.114.147454