‘Imbalance of resources’
The overall reduction in suicide rate of −4.01 per 100,000 “was mainly due” to reduction in age-specific suicide rates (−6.09; 152%), the researchers report.
This effect was partly offset, however, by the effect of the changing population age structure (2.08; −52%). In the high-income–level region, for example, the reduction in age-specific suicide rate (−3.83; 216.3%) was greater than the increase resulting from the change in population age structure (2.06; −116.3%).
“The overall contribution of population age structure mainly came from the 45-64 (565.2%) and 65+ (528.7%) age groups,” the investigators write. “This effect was observed in middle-income– as well as high-income–level regions, reflecting the global effect of population aging.”
They add that world populations will “experience pronounced and historically unprecedented aging in the coming decades” because of increasing life expectancy and declining fertility.
Men, but not women, had a notable increase in total number of suicide deaths. The significant effect of male population growth (177,128; 890.2% vs. 123,814; 622.3% for women) and male population age structure (120,186; 604.0% vs. 69,325; 348.4%) were the main factors that explained this increase, the investigators note.
However, from 1990 to 2019, the overall suicide rate per 100,000 men decreased from 16.6 to 13.5 (–3.09). The decline in overall suicide rate was even greater for women, from 11.0 to 6.1 (–4.91).
This finding was particularly notable in the upper-middle–income region (–8.12 women vs. –4.37 men per 100,000).
“This study highlighted the considerable imbalance of the resources in carrying out suicide prevention work, especially in low-income and middle-income countries,” the investigators write.
“It is time to revisit this situation to ensure that sufficient resources can be redeployed globally to meet the future challenges,” they add.
The study was funded by a Humanities and Social Sciences Prestigious Fellowship, which Dr. Yip received. He declared no relevant financial relationships.
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.