Violent suicide methods across life stages - a national population-based register study

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Epidemiology
• Sociology

Background:

• Understanding suicide methods is crucial for prevention.
• Violent suicide methods are a significant concern globally.
• Age and sociodemographic factors may influence method choice.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the use of violent suicide methods across different life stages.
• To investigate associations between violent suicide methods and sociodemographic characteristics, healthcare utilization, and place of death.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of Swedish national register data (2013-2019) for all suicide deaths.
• Categorization of suicide methods into violent and non-violent.
• Logistic regression modeling, including nonlinear age effects and interaction analyses.

Main Results:

• 77% of 8,325 suicides involved violent methods.
• Violent method use peaked at age 20, declining until age 60, with a slight increase thereafter.
• Stable use in men, decreasing use in women until age 60; lower use in foreign-born older adults; higher odds linked to lower education and institutional death.

Conclusions:

• Distinct age- and subgroup-specific trends in violent suicide method use exist.
• Lower rates observed in women up to age 60 and older migrants.
• A lifespan approach and tailored prevention strategies are essential for suicide risk reduction.