Researchers believe this figure is a 'conservative' estimate.
Research out of the University of Oxford and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine reveals that the recent recession (2008-2010) can be linked to more than 10,000 suicides across Europe and North America. The findings show that suicide rates increased significantly in the EU, Canada and the U.S. after 2007. Furthermore, the increase was four times greater among men.
Studying recently released suicide data from the World Health Organization, the researchers found that the downward trend in suicide rates in the EU reversed when the economy went sour starting in 2007, increasing by 6.5 percent by 2009 and staying at the higher level through to 2011. They discovered a 4.5 percent increase in Canada between 2007 and 2010 and a 4.8 percent increase in the U.S. over the same period.
Researchers believe that the figure of 10,000 additional suicides due to the recession in the EU, Canada and U.S. is a 'conservative' estimate. The study reveals that job less, home repossession and debt are the primary risk factors leading to suicide during times of economic trouble.
The findings show that nations that invest in active labor market programs lower the risk of suicide. For example, the researchers estimate that for each $100 spent per capita on programs offering such help for the jobless, the risk of suicide lowered by 0.4 percent.
'There has been a substantial rise in suicides during the recession, greater than we would have anticipated based on previous trends,' posited Dr. Aaron Reeves, of Oxford University's Department of Sociology, in a statement. 'A critical question for policy and psychiatric practice is whether suicide rises are inevitable.'
'This study shows that rising suicides have not been observed everywhere so while recessions will continue to hurt, they don't always cause self-harm,' he added. 'A range of interventions, from return to work programs through to antidepressant prescriptions, may reduce the risk of suicide during future economic downturns.'
The results are described in greater detail in the British Journal of Psychiatry.
