Mortality rates due to suicide highest in Eastern Europe, Southern and Central sub-Saharan Africa
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, March 4, 2025 (HealthDay News) — The age-standardized mortality rate for suicide decreased globally from 1990 to 2021, with variation by age, sex, and geographic region, according to a study published online in the March issue of The Lancet Public Health.
Nicole Davis Weaver, from the University of Washington in Seattle, and colleagues estimated the number of deaths and age-standardized mortality rates for suicide globally, regionally, and for 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2021. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2021 estimates of deaths attributable to suicide were categorized as those by firearms and those by other specified means.
The researchers found that in 2021, there were 746,000 deaths from suicide globally, including 519,000 and 227,000 among men and women, respectively. There was a decline in the age-standardized mortality rate over time, from 14.9 to 9.0 deaths per 100,000 population in 1990 and 2021, respectively. Mortality rates due to suicide were highest in Eastern Europe, Southern sub-Saharan Africa, and Central sub-Saharan Africa (19.2, 16.1, and 14.4 per 100,000, respectively). During the study period, there was a progressive increase in the mean age at which individuals died from suicide (mean age, 43.0 and 47.0 years in 1990 and 2021 for men; 41.9 and 46.9 years, respectively, for women).
“Progress in reducing suicide mortality has been laudable in some regions and within some age groups; however, even in areas where reduction efforts have been sustained, suicide remains an important preventable contributor to the burden of disease across all locations,” the authors write.
Several authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.
Copyright © 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
