About 740,000 worldwide deaths due to suicide occur annually – that is one death every 43 seconds

About 740,000 suicides are reported annually: that is a death on average every 43 seconds, one of the many disturbing findings in the latest and most extensive analysis published today in Lancet’s public health.

Researchers from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington’s School of Medicine in Seattle carried out a deep dive of the worldwide disease data per region, country, year, age, gender and suicide by firearms from 1990 to 2021.

In the past three decades, the global death rate for suicide fell by almost 40%, from around 15 deaths per 100,000 to 9 deaths per 100,000, indicating that intervention and prevention work. For women, the rate fell by more than 50%, while it fell by almost 34% for men. Regionally, Eastern Asia registered the largest decrease of 66%, with China reporting the largest decrease in the region.

Although progress is encouraging, it is not universal. Four regions reported an increase in suicide percentage for both sexes combined in the same period. Central Latin -America had the highest leap at 39%, with Mexico at the top of the list of the region with an increase of 123% only for women.

Andes Latin -America had the second highest increase of 13%, with Ecuador registering the largest increase for both sexes combined in the region. Tropical Latin -America finished third with an increase of 9% and Paraguay was at the top of the region list for both sexes.

North America with a high income registered an increase of 7%, with the US at the top of the region list with a jump of 23% only for women.

Under the worldwide causes of death of 2021, suicide was ranked in 21st place (higher than HIV/AIDS) for both sexes combined. Regionally, the highest death rates of suicide in Eastern Europe, South Sub-Saharan Africa and Central Africa were the Sahara. For men, suicide was the 19th leading cause of death worldwide, in which Eastern Europe registered the highest mortality rate. For women, suicide was arranged worldwide, with South Asia the highest percentage for women.

“Although the progress that is made in falling suicide figures is encouraging, it is clear that suicide has more influence on some countries and population more than others. The removal of suicide stigma and barriers to mental health care access systems remain critical measures, in particular In people with mental and substance abuse disorders, “said senior author Dr. Mohsen Naghavi with Ihme.

Previous studies have shown that victims of violence, sexual violence and trauma in children are observed that it runs an increased risk of suicide. Research has consistently demonstrated that access to fatal resources, such as weapons and pesticides, is associated with higher suicides. Previous evidence suggests that poverty and social hardship are also associated with suicide.

The latest figures also underline a grim difference between men and women worldwide, regional and national. Males were more than twice as likely to die from suicide than women, but women were 49% more likely to try it.

According to researchers, four men and six women needed intramural treatment every minute due to suicide attempts. In general, the death rate for suicide was 12.8 per 100,000 population for men and 5.4 per 100,000 population for women.

The incidence of suicide attempts that required medical care that did not result in death was three times higher for women compared to men. This difference was highest in North America with a high income, with one in 30.7 attempts that resulted in death for women and one in 6.3 attempts that resulted in death for men.

Worldwide, men were more than three times as likely to die from suicide with the help of firearms than women: 10% of suicides were men with weapons, while 3% of suicides were by women with weapons. The US had the highest firearm -related suicides in the world: almost 22,000 or 55% of suicides were with weapons by men, while more than 3,000 or almost 31% of suicides were by women with weapons.

“Men tend to choose more violent and deadly methods of suicide such as weapons, while women choose less fatal means, such as poisoning and overdose, which have a higher chance of survival,” said Emily Rosenblad, the second author and the project of the Study officer at Ihme.

Both men and women die worldwide through suicide at a later age. In 1990 the average age for men was 43 years old, and for women it was almost 42 years old. By 2021, the average age had risen to 47 for men and almost 47 for women. The highest average age was about 58 years for men and 60 years for women, both in East Asia. Conversely, the youngest average age was found at suicide in Oceania, where it was 36 years for men and 34 years for women.

The study identifies the existing patterns and trends to develop more effective methods for suicide prevention around the world, which policy makers and health workers can help develop better strategies and approaches for specific locations and populations.

Suicide prevention is the most effective when communities work together through awareness, intervention and support systems.