Comparing gender-specific suicide mortality rate trends in the United States and Lithuania, 1990–2019: putting one of the “deaths of despair” into perspective

Abstract

Introduction The increase in the suicide mortality rate among middle-aged adults in the United States (US) has been well documented. Aside from a few studies from the United Kingdom, it is unclear whether the suicide mortality rate trend in the US is also occurring in other developed countries. Accordingly, we aimed to compare the suicide mortality rate trends over the past 30 years in the US to a country in the European Union–Lithuania. Methods Joinpoint regression analyses were performed to identify secular trends in the gender-specific age-standardized suicide mortality rate among individuals 15 + years of age, as well as middle-aged adults (45–54 years of age), and suicide mortality rate ratio for men-to-women. Results Age-standardized suicide mortality rates among middle-aged adults in the US increased annually, on average, by 0.89% (95% CI: 0.66%, 1.12%) among men and 1.21% (95% CI: 0.75%, 1.66%) among women between 1990 and 2019. In contrast to the US, there was an overall downward trend in the suicide mortality rates among middle-aged adults in Lithuania across the study period. The average annual percent change in the suicide mortality rate ratio for men-to-women were not statistically significant for either country. Conclusion The suicide mortality rate trend in the US does not appear to be an indicator of an upcoming global trend, but rather should be regarded as a cautionary example of what other countries should strive to avoid.

Suicide attempt-related emergency department visits among adolescents: a nationwide population-based study in Korea, 2016–2019

“…The annual age- and sex-standardized incidence rates of SA-related ED visits among adolescents were calculated using the direct standardization method, with the 2020 Korean population obtained from Statistics Korea ( https://kostat.go.kr/ ) as the standard population. To examine the trends in the age- and sex-standardized incidence rates across the study period, joinpoint regression analysis was performed, as described previously [ 26 ]. We used the Monte Carlo permutation method to select the least number of linear segments in which additional joinpoints did not add statistically significant linear trends [ 27 ].…”

Suicide rates in the Slovak Republic in 2011–2020

“…Just as in other countries of Eastern and Central Europe, our results also show comparatively high rates for adults of working age. For example, the suicide rate reported for men aged 45–54 years old in Lithuania in 2019 was 50.07 per 100,000 [ 20 ]; in Slovakia for males of the same age group in 2019, it was 13.28 per 100,000 (data not shown in the article). The suicide mortality trend in Slovakia has a similar pattern to that of other Central and Eastern European countries, but the age-specific rates are much lower.…”