Trends in the impact of suicide compared to other external causes of death: From 1995 to 2020

Abstract

Background

Suicide is one of the world's greatest public health problems. More than 700,000 people lose their lives to suicide every year. While funding for mental health waits to be increased, thousands of suicides occur every day.

Material and methods

This study aims to quantify the global impact of suicide compared to other external causes of death in terms of years of potential life lost (YPLL), and how this will change between 1995 and 2020. Our source of information is the World Health Organization (WHO) mortality database. We then use YPLL, a standard measure of premature mortality and burden of disease that brings precision to the assessment of the impact of different causes of death. This, combined with the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) as a way of expressing increase, gives us a better understanding of the real situation and trends of suicide compared to other external causes of death in different countries worldwide.

Results

Based on the available sources of information and the selection criteria, we obtained a sample of 69 countries. The CAGR for all causes per capita decreased over the observed period in 65 countries, and it increases in 4 countries. In contrast, the CAGR specifically for suicide decreased in 49 countries, while an increase was observed in 20 countries.

Conclusions

Prevention of most external causes of mortality shows promising data in most countries. However, this is not the case for suicide. Thus, YPLL due to suicide have decreased to a comparatively lesser extent and have even increased in some countries, a very worrying situation that poses many clinical and epidemiological challenges.