Social and economic determinants of the age structure of mortality from suicide in Russia

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Abstract

The purpose of the study is to analyze mortality from suicide in the post-Soviet Russia in terms of its age-related changes and determinants.

Material and methods. The authors used data of the Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat) calculated in the FAISS-Potential system (Factographic analytical information and statistical system) for the period 1989-2018 as well as age and standardized (European standard population) indices by death causes according to ICD-10.

Results. During crises, the age structure of mortality from suicide is highly gender-specific. In males, there is a plateau of super mortality in working ages with a local (and sometimes absolute) maximum in persons aged 50-59 years; the difference from the non-crisis periods is mainly determined by young working ages. In females, the “crisis” age structure of suicide mortality is characterized by a stable upward trend without any pronounced maxima.

Discussion. Comparing regions by mortality from officially registered suicide, on the one hand, and latent suicide (hanging, fall/jump from a height, and drug poisoning), on the other hand, substantiates objectivity of this problem - namely, a significant underestimation of mortality from suicide. The study shows the opposite groups of these regions to mirror each other, i.e. regions with low mortality from suicide are characterized by a significant latent suicide component.

Conclusions. Dynamics in suicide mortality in the post-Soviet Russia was determined by its social and economic changes. A social determinant of mortality from suicide is reflected by its age structure: there is a significant increase in the risk of suicide in working-age groups during the crisis and super mortality among the working-age population in the disadvantaged territories even during non-crisis periods, while there is an opposite trend in the structure of suicide mortality in older ages. The general determinant patterns of the age structure of suicide mortality are distorted by its under-registration.

About the authors

Victoria G. Semyonova

Research Institute for Healthcare Organization and Medical Management of Moscow Healthcare Department; Institute for Demographic Research - Branch of the Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Author for correspondence.
Email: vika-home@yandex.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-2794-1009

Dr. Sci. (Econ.), chief researcher of the Institute for Demographic Research — Branch of the Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences 119333, Moscow, Russia.

e-mail: vika-home@yandex.ru

Russian Federation

Alla E. Ivanova

Research Institute for Healthcare Organization and Medical Management of Moscow Healthcare Department; Institute for Demographic Research - Branch of the Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Email: noemail@neicon.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-0258-3479
Russian Federation

Tamara P. Sabgaida

Research Institute for Healthcare Organization and Medical Management of Moscow Healthcare Department; Institute for Demographic Research - Branch of the Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences; Federal Research Institute for Health Organization and Informatics

Email: noemail@neicon.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-5670-6315
Russian Federation

Alexandr V. Zubko

Institute for Demographic Research - Branch of the Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences; Federal Research Institute for Health Organization and Informatics

Email: noemail@neicon.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0001-8958-1400
Russian Federation

Alexandr Yu. Mikhailov

Federal Research Institute for Health Organization and Informatics

Email: noemail@neicon.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0001-9723-6228
Russian Federation

Galina N. Evdokushkina

Research Institute for Healthcare Organization and Medical Management of Moscow Healthcare Department; Institute for Demographic Research - Branch of the Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences; Federal Research Institute for Health Organization and Informatics

Email: noemail@neicon.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-1389-2509
Russian Federation

Vyacheslav G. Zaporozhchenko

Federal Research Institute for Health Organization and Informatics

Email: noemail@neicon.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-6167-7379
Russian Federation

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Copyright (c) 2020 Semyonova V.G., Ivanova A.E., Sabgaida T.P., Zubko A.V., Mikhailov A.Y., Evdokushkina G.N., Zaporozhchenko V.G.

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