Inter-regional variations in suicide rates

Suicidal behaviour is a significant public health problem. Suicide alone represents the 10th leading cause of death worldwide. Suicide is a complex phenomenon and may be the result of an interaction of biological, psychological and socioeconomic factors. Although there are many differences in suicide rates between different countries in the world, some studies reported huge differences of suicide rates between different regions within the same country as well. The studies that investigated the regional differences in suicide rates were gathered in the present article. The studies revealed that depression frequently remained unidentified and thus untreated and could contribute to high regional suicide rates. It could be speculated that access to services, which increases the possibility of diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders, could have an impact on regional suicide rates. Thus the availability of services may be relevant in explaining geographical variations in suicide incidence. Many studies reported that suicide was a major public health issue of particular concern among rural populations, which experienced a consistently higher suicide rate than urban areas considering the availability of psychiatric services, was typically less available in rural regions. As suggested in some studies, it seems that socioeconomic factors outweighed climatic factors in explaining regional differences in the suicide rate but further research is needed.