Is suicide prevention finally working in India? Lancet study shows how suicide death rate went down by 30% from 1990 to 2021

Why did suicide figures go down?

Researchers found that suicide prevention was most effective when communities worked together through awareness, intervention and support systems. And though there are more helplines and mental health guidance and counselling platforms now, the authors of the paper felt that addressing socio-economic triggers was the key to suicide prevention.

The authors wrote how promoting family stability, social integration and addressing harmful cultural practices are important. Strengthening social support systems is crucial as strong community networks can provide a buffer against the social isolation often associated with suicide risk.

The authors also noted that while only mental health interventions might be insufficient in some cases, it remains crucial to improve access to mental health care, particularly in low-income settings. Integrating mental health care into primary health systems can improve access and reduce stigma, making services more widely available to underserved populations.

Additionally, public awareness campaigns that reduce stigma surrounding suicide and encourage help-seeking behaviour can create a more supportive environment, the authors argued.

What are the reasons for suicide by gender?

There were 1.88 lakh deaths by suicide in India in 2021, of which 1.13 lakh were men, 74,869 were women. Of the 1.88 lakh deaths, a total of 1.08 lakh were in the 15-39 age group.

According to Prof Dandona, 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 cause of death 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. However, details of what ‘family problems’ include are not available. But in our understanding, family problems for married women include domestic violence, challenges with spouse/in-laws predominantly,” she says.

Female suicides more common in South Asia

Meanwhile as per the analysis, similar to 1990, countries in South Asia and high-income Asia Pacific still carry some of the highest burden of female suicide mortality. “The suicide death rate is higher among females who completed Class XII as compared with those who were not educated. This raises concerns on the extent of empowerment that education provides to Indian women. We need more in-depth work to understand this better,” Prof Dandona says.

Meanwhile as per the report, suicide is a global health issue with a suicide death every 43 seconds globally–that’s 740,000 deaths annually. Trends in the mortality rate over the past several decades show large improvements, with a decline of 39.5% since 1990, but this is not consistent throughout the world or by demographic group. Of the 746,000 suicides reported globally, 519,000 deaths were among males and 227,000 were among females

The analysis indicates that males were more than twice as likely to die from suicide than females. Females were 49 per cent more likely to attempt it. Every minute, four males and six females around the globe need in patient treatment due to suicide attempts. Ten per cent of suicides by males and 3 per cent by females were with guns. In the United States alone, 55 per cent suicide attempts by males and 31 per cent by females were with guns.

Over the last three decades, the global age-standardized mortality rate1 for suicide declined by nearly 40%, from about 15 deaths per 100,000 to 9 deaths per 100,000, indicating that intervention and prevention are working. For females, the rate declined by more than 50%, while it declined by almost 34% for males. Regionally, East Asia recorded the largest decline of 66% with China reporting the largest decline in the region.