In 2019, more than 97,000 suicides were recorded on the continent, says the regional health agency, specifying that 79% of people who commit suicide are men, although an increase has been recorded among women. A new study highlights the importance of understanding the factors surrounding suicides according to sex to develop appropriate preventive strategies.
Although the global mortality rate from suicide has decreased, in the American continent it has increased since 2000 , according to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), which urged improving prevention through a better understanding of the factors that surround the population that resorts to taking their own lives.
Faced with 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 taking into account the social determinants of suicide according to the sex of the people to be able to develop risk reduction plans and appropriate 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.
It is necessary to go beyond limiting access to methods
Dr. Renato Oliveira e Souza, head of Mental Health and Substance Use at PAHO, explained that preventing suicide must go beyond limiting access to the methods to commit it, strengthening socio-emotional skills and improving access. to mental health care.
“We must also address contextual factors that affect men and women differently , which requires a whole-of-society approach,” said Oliveira e Souza, one of the authors of the study.
For PAHO, an increase in employment opportunities and improved access to and capacity of health services , including those related to substance use, could reduce suicide mortality rates. “Enhancing 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 recorded 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 per 10,000. population. The figures also showed the urgency of supporting people who live in isolated rural areas.
Variation by subregions
PAHO specified that the mortality rate from suicide varied considerably by subregion, with North America leading the way (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.
With respect to the countries, the study reported differences that range from 0.3 suicides per 100,000 inhabitants, in Barbados, to 65 suicides per 100,000 inhabitants in Guyana.
In this sense, Dr. Shannon Lange, a scientist at the Mental Health Policy Research Institute 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 must include multisectoral health and social well-being measures.
PAHO offers the countries of the region technical cooperation for suicide prevention through effective interventions and comprehensive national responses.
