Has India made progress in preventing suicides? 30 per cent fall in death rates from 1990 to 2021

The suicide death rate in India has reduced by 30 per cent from 1990 to 2021, according to a new study.

Published in The Lancet Public Health, the analysis is based on the results from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021.

Despite the progress even on a global level, however, the authors point out that suicide continues to impact some countries and populations more than others.

Let’s take a closer look.

Suicide death rate in India

In 1990, there were 18.9 suicide deaths for every lakh people in the nation.

The number had dropped to 13.1 per lakh by 2019, and it had further declined to 13 per 100,000 by 2021.

Over three decades, this amounts to a 31.5 per cent overall decrease.

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Researchers discovered that when communities united through awareness, intervention, and support networks, suicide prevention was most effective.

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Gender-specific trends

Interestingly, the study found that suicide rates among women decreased more significantly than those among men.

By 2021, the suicide death rate among females has decreased from 16.8 per lakh in 1990 to 10.3 per lakh. In contrast, the male suicide rate dropped from 20.9 per 100,000 in 1990 to 15.7 per lakh in 2021.

In 2020, educated women in India reported the highest suicide rates, with family-related problems being the most often mentioned cause, according to researchers from the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME).

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According to the Indian Express, which quoted Prof Rakhi Dandona, Director of the Public Health Foundation of India Injury Research Centre, and among the collaborators of the study, suicide was the leading cause of death in women in the 15-39 age group in 2021 while among men it was the second leading reason after road injuries.

“The reason for a high number of suicides in the 15-39 age group was mostly related to family problems and financial matters as per the data available from the National Crime Records Bureau,” she says, adding that details of what ‘family problems include are unavailable.

“In our understanding, family problems for married women include domestic violence, challenges with spouse/in-laws predominantly.”

According to the data, South Asian and high-income Asia Pacific nations continue to bear some of the highest rates of female suicide mortality, much like they did in 1990.

“The suicide death rate is higher among females who completed Class XII as compared with those who are not educated. This raises concerns about the extent of empowerment that education provides to Indian women. We need more in-depth work to understand this better,” Prof Dandona told the publication.

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One suicide in every 43 seconds globally

As per the report, suicide is a global health issue.

There’s a suicide death every 43 seconds globally, which translates to 740,000 deaths annually.

The mortality rate has decreased by 39.5 per cent since 1990, indicating significant progress over the previous few decades. However, this is not the case globally or by demographic group.

Of the 746,000 suicides that were reported globally in 2021, 227,000 were among women and 519,000 were among men. Suicide was the 21st leading cause of death worldwide for both sexes combined in that year.

According to the data, men were over twice as likely as women to die by suicide. Women had a 49 per cent higher chance of attempting it.

Due to suicide attempts, four men and six women worldwide require inpatient treatment every minute.

As per the analysis, guns were used in three per cent of female suicides and 10 per cent of male suicides. In the US alone, guns were used in 31 per cent of female suicide attempts and 55 per cent of male suicide attempts.

The researchers said that the global age-standardised mortality rate for suicide decreased by about 40 per cent over the study period, from around 15 to nine deaths per 100,000 people.

While the rate decreased by over 34 per cent for males, it decreased by over 50 per cent for females.

“Men tend to choose more violent  and lethal methods of suicide such as guns, while women are more likely to choose less fatal means such as poisoning and overdosing, which have a higher survival rate,” said Emily Rosenblad, MPH, a project officer at IHME and study co-author, explained in the release.

With China reporting the biggest reduction in the region, East Asia saw the biggest drop overall, at 66 per cent.

“It is clear that suicide continues to impact some countries and populations more than others,” study co-author Dr Mohsen Naghavi, professor of health metric science at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), said in a press release.

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Suicide prevention

Despite these improvements, researchers have highlighted the need for continued efforts to reduce suicide rates further.

They wrote that social isolation, a lack of mental health resources, chronic illnesses and low coverage or insufficient health insurance “are critical risk factors contributing to suicide in middle and older age groups."

“Removing suicide stigma and barriers to access mental health support systems remain critical measures, particularly among people with mental and substance abuse disorders,” Naghavi said in the release.

With inputs from agencies

A collection of Suicide prevention helpline numbers are available here. Please reach out if you or anyone you know is in need of support. The All-India helpline number is: 022-27546669)