Changes in suicide inequalities in the context of an increase and a decrease in suicide mortality: The case of South...

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Epidemiology
• Sociology

Background:

• South Korea saw rising suicide rates until 2010, followed by a decrease.
• Socioeconomic factors significantly influence suicide rates and inequalities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze 25-year trends in socioeconomic inequalities in suicide in South Korea.
• To investigate how these inequalities changed during periods of increasing and decreasing suicide mortality.

Main Methods:

• Utilized Korean death registry and census data from 1995-2020 at 5-year intervals.
• Employed Poisson regression to calculate four measures of suicide inequality: Slope Index of Inequality (SII), relative index of inequality, rate ratios, and ratio differences.

Main Results:

• Educational inequalities in suicide were consistently observed across all groups and periods.
• Suicide inequalities widened with increasing mortality until 2010.
• Inequalities narrowed after 2010, with SII decreasing by 35.4% in the total population.
• The narrowing trend was primarily driven by older populations, while younger and middle-aged groups showed stable or increasing inequalities.

Conclusions:

• Suicide inequalities in South Korea have narrowed in the last decade, linked to declining suicide mortality.
• Social protection measures favoring the less educated appear to contribute to reducing these inequalities.
• Age-specific trends highlight the need for targeted interventions.