The Influence of Military Events as a Socially Stress Factor on the Suicide Mortality Rate

Abstract

Introduction. Russia's aggression, which began in 2014 with the occupation of Crimea and parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, is considered a powerful long-term socially stressful factor. The suicide rate, as an indicator of troubles in society and its health as a whole, helps to identify a vulnerable contingent of the population and evaluate the effectiveness of state preventive measures implemented in socially stressful conditions. The aim: to investigate the dynamics of suicide mortality in Ukraine for the period 2005-2021. and the impact on this indicator of a socially stressful factor – Russian aggression in order to determine the stability of Ukrainian society in the conditions of war, identify the most vulnerable contingent of the population and evaluate the state's multi-selective approach aimed at preventing suicide. Materials and methods. The research materials were official statistical data from the "Population of Ukraine" reports of the State Statistics Service of Ukraine for 2005-2021. Cases of suicide of men and women in the period 2005-2013 served as a comparison group. The analysis provided for the clarification of annual rates and dynamics of suicide mortality and its gender characteristics during the period of the social stress factor in 2014-2021, in comparison with the control period and world indicators (WHO). Bibliographic, epidemiological, analytical, statistical methods were used in the research. Results. In Ukraine, as well as in the world, in the period 2005-2021, a decrease in the death rate due to suicides is noted, however, the Ukrainian rates significantly exceed the world rates. In a relatively prosperous period, the mortality rate due to suicide was 20.8±0.3, and it decreased statistically significantly (p<0.001) to 16.1±0.36 in the socially stressful period of 2014-2021. The number of suicides among the male population significantly exceeds its number among the female population and is significantly higher than the world indicators, in contrast to the female population, where the indicators are even lower. During the socially stressful period, the number of suicides among men remains reduced to 28.76±0.92 (р<0.001) and among women to 5.64±0.3 (р<0.05), with more stable rates of decline among women. Conclusions. In Ukraine, there is a dynamic decrease in the number of deaths due to suicides, which correlates with global indicators. However, our country, despite the faster rate of decline of this indicator, still belongs to the countries with a high rate of suicide mortality. During the military events of 2014-2021, the death rate from suicides decreased significantly, compared to the previous relatively prosperous period of 2005-2013 (p<0.001), which indicates the stability of Ukrainian society in war conditions. Mortality due to suicides in Ukraine significantly prevails among men (p<0.001) and significantly exceeds global indicators, which makes them a vulnerable contingent of the population that needs socially oriented support. The positive dynamics of the decrease in the number of suicides among men (p<0.001) and women (p<0.05) in the conditions of war testifies to the effectiveness of the state's multi-selective approach aimed at preventing suicide.