Introduction
Suicide rates and the proportion of alcohol-involved suicides rose during the 2008–2009
recession. Associations between county-level poverty, foreclosures, and unemployment
and suicide rates and proportion of alcohol-involved suicides were investigated.
Methods
In 2015, National Violent Death Reporting System data from 16 states in 2005–2011
were utilized to calculate suicide rates and a measure of alcohol involvement in suicides
at the county level. Panel models with year and state fixed effects included county-level
measures of unemployment, foreclosure, and poverty rates.
Results
Poverty rates were strongly associated with suicide rates for both genders and all
age groups, were positively associated with alcohol involvement in suicides for men
aged 45–64 years, and negatively associated for men aged 20–44 years. Foreclosure
rates were negatively associated with suicide rates for women and those aged ≥65 years
but positively related for those aged 45–64 years. Unemployment rate effects on suicide
rates were mediated by poverty rates in all groups.
Conclusions
Population risk of suicide was most clearly associated with county-level poverty rates,
indicating that programs addressing area poverty should be targeted for reducing suicide
risk. Poverty rates were also associated with increased alcohol involvement for men
aged 45–64 years, indicating a role for alcohol in suicide for this working-aged group.
However, negative associations between economic indicators and alcohol involvement
were found for four groups, suggesting that non-economic factors or more general economic
effects not captured by these indicators may have played a larger role in alcohol-related
suicide increases.
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Article Info
Publication History
Published online: November 13, 2016
Identification
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© 2016 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
