Suicide in andalusia: An analysis of the phenomenon in the last 10 years (2008-2017)

Abstract

In recent years there has been an increase in the number of suicides, which has become a serious social and public health problem. Suicide has been the first cause of unnatural death in Spain for the last 11 years (INE, 2017). This study presents exhaustively the available data regarding the phenomenon in Andalusia. The data of the Instituto Nacional de Estadística [National Statistics Institute] (INE in Spanish) in the period between 2008 and 2017 have been analyzed for this purpose. Noteworthy among the conclusions are the differences among the provinces in terms of the number of suicides, the differences between the sexes (it being more frequent in men), and the high suicide rate among those over the age of 75. These results show the need to continue researching to clarify the etiology in greater depth, in order to design preventive and intervention programs for this devastating social scourge.