A new suicide study ranks Canada with the sixth-highest suicide mortality rate out of North, Central, and South America..The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) published the study, it is the first study to examine “specific contextual factors” in national suicide mortality rates in the Americas. The study used data from 2000-2019.. Shannon Lange CAMH .In 2019, the mortality rate of 9 per 100,000 people was the average in the Americas, which is over 97,000 suicides. Males accounted for 14.2 per 100,000 and females for 4.1 per 100,000..The mortality rate varied across different sub-regions, with North America the highest at 14.1 per 100,000 and the South American Andean region had the lowest at 3.9 per 100,000..The study said the difference between the highest and lowest rates is attributed to “notable sociocultural differences between regions.”.The mortality rate between countries varied from Barbados at 0.3 per 100,000 to Guyana at 65 per 100,000..The study found a “culture-bound phenomenon, meaning that cultural expectations about gender and suicide strongly determine both its existence and magnitude” as males have significantly higher suicide rates compared to females..“It is also likely that the contextual factors associated with suicide will be different for males and females,” said the study..CAMH Dr Shannon Lange, the study’s author, said the study will help create more effective prevention strategies for governments..“Our findings highlight the vital importance of considering gender differences when developing, adapting, and testing suicide risk reduction initiatives,” said Lange in a press release..“Gender norms and expectations are likely to influence suicide risk factors so it can’t be a one-size fits all approach. Our results indicate that multi-sectoral measures targeting health and social well-being should be emphasized.”.The World Health Organization Global Health Estimates health data was used in the study and over the twenty years of data, the suicide mortality rate increased in the Americas, while all the other studied regions saw a decrease.. World Health Organization signWorld Health Organization sign .CAMH said this study shows “an urgent need for more enhanced and targeted suicide prevention efforts.”.Another factor the study found was differences between different regions within a country..“Prevention efforts must not only target vulnerable populations, but also target the contextual factors contributing to the suicide mortality burden in a given country,” said the study..“In fact, population-level approaches to suicide prevention have been called for.”.The study found eight factors that influenced the suicide rate including intravenous drug use, alcohol use, health-care spending, homicide rate, education inequality, population density, unemployment rate, and the number of doctors available per population..Education inequality is the unequal distribution of academic resources..Male suicide rates decreased as the healthcare spending per capita increased and in areas of a country with “moderate population density.”.The number of medical doctors per capita and “moderate increases in population density” reduced the female suicide rate..In regions with high education inequality and unemployment rates, female suicide rates increased..“The contextual factors that significantly impacted the suicide mortality rate among males and females were largely different,” said the study. .“Sex should be considered when adapting and testing suicide risk reduction interventions, and when developing national suicide prevention strategies.”
