Trends and prevalence of suicide among children and young people in Türkiye

Suicide among youth is a major public health issue, and each country has implemented different suicide prevention policies and strategies throughout the years. This study aims to analyse the frequency of suicides and changing of suicide methods among children and young people in Türkiye during the last 15 years. Annual data provided by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT) were utilised retrospectively in this study. Data about suicide rate and methods were analysed by the Joinpoint Regression Program. Over the years between 2009 and 2023, changes in suicide rate and trends in suicide methods were revealed. There were 12,745 suicide deaths among children and young people. These comprised 25.07% of total suicide deaths last 15 years. The age-specific suicide death rates increased with an average annual percent change of 1.46%. Hanging was the most used suicide method in total (n = 5313; 41.69%) and in both sexes (n = 3591, 44.26% in males; n = 1722, 37.18% in females), followed by using firearms in second place and jumping from heights in third, overall. Suicide death rates caused by jumping increased significantly by 6.9% per year. In contrast, suicide deaths by hanging decreased approximately 1.45% annually. Determining the prevalence and trends of suicide methods is crucial for identifying high-risk populations. This knowledge is essential for formulating and executing effective suicide prevention strategies.