Spatial analysis and temporal trends of suicide mortality in Sergipe, Brazil, 2000-2015

Background: The World Health Organization defines suicide as the act of deliberately killing oneself. It is the second leading cause of death among 15-29 year olds globally. Objective: To analyze the epidemiological profile and the spatial distribution of suicide deaths in the state of Sergipe. Methods: We performed an ecological time-series study with data from the Brazilian Mortality Information System (Sistema de Informacoes sobre Mortalidade - SIM) about deaths by suicide occurring between 2000 and 2015. We considered as suicide deaths cases recorded as voluntary self-inflicted injuries. Suicide rates were estimated and age-adjusted in the population above 9 years. We analyzed temporal trends by sex and age groups using the simple linear regression model. For the spatial analysis, we performed Kernel density estimation with the software TerraView version 4.2.2. Results: We identified 1,560 suicide cases in the state of Sergipe between 2000 and 2015, with a mean of 97.5 cases per year. We also observed that suicide rates in the state increased 102.3% (from 2.69/100,000 population in 2000 to 5.44 in 2015). Suicides occurred predominantly among males (1,160 cases; 74.35%), single people (1,010 cases; 64.7%), and brown-skinned people (1,039 cases; 66.6%). We observed significantly growing temporal trends in the general population, especially among male adults. Spatial analysis allowed us to draw a map that showed the regions with the highest occurrence of suicide. Conclusion: We observed growing suicide trends in the state of Sergipe and the spatial analysis was an important tool that showed the areas with higher incidences of suicide.