Effect of economic crises on suicide rates

Abstract

Economic crises can cause adverse health effects, such as an increase in the prevalence of mental disorders and suicide rates. Nevertheless, these effects might vary across countries. While some countries successfully decouple economic crises from adverse mental health outcomes, in others the suicide rates increase due to economic crises. The differential impact of the economic crises on suicide may depend on some of the policies taken to tackle the financial downturn. Some of the mechanisms that underlay the association between suicide and economic crisis are increased unemployment, job insecurity, decreased earnings, personal debt and sudden bankruptcy. Several measures can be taken in order to prevent or decrease the negative effects of economic downturns on suicide, such as reducing the barriers to accessing health care, improving the quality of treatment of mental disorders with special attention to depression, raising the price of spirits, providing support to tackle financial problems, investing in labour market programmes and encouraging social support.