Economic Crisis: Higher Suicide Rates in Men may be Linked to Financial Hardship

The tragic event of a suicide can have strong emotional repercussions for survivors of the individual who decided to end his or her life. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than 36,000 people in the United States alone kill themselves every year, according to statistics from 2010, and although federally-funded suicide prevention programs continue to help teenagers, there continues to be a spike in the rates of middle-aged citizens ending their own lives. In fact, men in particular seem to be at a higher risk, with major disparities among various ethnic and racial groups, including American Indians and Alaskan Natives.

According to a recent study, researchers now believe that financial stressors may play a role in increasing suicide rates. In fact, the global economic crisis that started in 2008 can be tied to rates of suicide in both Europe and America.

"After the 2008 economic crisis, rates of suicide increased in the European and American countries studies, particularly in men and in countries with higher levels of job loss," the authors noted, according to FOX News.

For the study, researchers from universities in the United Kingdom, including Oxford and Bristol, worked with researchers from Hong Kong University in order to examine data from 54 countries provided by the World Health Organization mortality database, the CDC and the International Monetary Fund's World Economic Outlook database. Through looking at data via all of these organizations, the researchers hoped to get a better idea about information from the 2008 economic crisis that affected each nation.

Results showed that as of 2009, a 37 percent increase in unemployment rates was seen via a three percent decrease in GDP per capita. The researchers also found that there was a spike in male suicide rates followed by the economic consequence of the crisis. For instance, during that year alone, nearly 5,000 additional suicide rates were not estimated to happen. And overall, age range varied greatly depending on the area. For instance, in Europe, the age group that committed more suicides was men, aged 15 to 24. In the United States, there was a considerable rise in men between the ages of 45 and 64, with the rates for women only increasing slightly in both areas.

More information regarding the study can be found via the British Medical Journal.