Suicide and occupation: spatial patterns in Chapecó (SC) and contextualization of the temporal trend in the national...

To analyze suicide in Chapecó (SC) in terms of temporal trends, occupation, and spatial patterns by neighborhood, comparing local data with national data.

This is an ecological study conducted in Chapecó (SC), based on deaths by suicide reported between 2006 and 2024. Suicide rates in Chapecó (SC) were standardized by age. The joinpoint regression technique was used for the temporal trend analysis. In the spatial analysis, the local empirical Bayesian suicide rate was calculated by neighborhood.

A total of 392 deaths were recorded during the period in Chapecó (SC). The average standardized annual rate was 8.8 per 100,000 inhabitants. There was a significant increase over the period studied in Brazil and in Chapecó (SC) (p<0.001), with more pronounced growth in this municipality. The profession of bricklayer/construction worker was the most reported one (13.6%), followed by agricultural workers (11.0%). The extreme south and north regions of the municipality had the highest suicide rates, above 9.6 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants.

There was an upward trend in suicide in the municipality during the analyzed period. The results suggest a direct association between suicide and social deprivation and point to the need for intensified prevention efforts targeting construction workers and farmers, as well as the outlying areas of the city.