Evolving sex differences in suicide mortality by age in Spain, 2000-2023: a nationwide trend analysis.
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Nationwide longitudinal population-based trend analysis using registry vital statistics.
PubMed 42173665 · doi:10.1136/jech-2025-225558
What was done
A longitudinal trend study analyzing nationwide suicide mortality in Spain from 2000 to 2023 using vital statistics from the Spanish Statistical Office. The authors computed crude and age-adjusted suicide rates across 15 age groups stratified by sex, and applied joinpoint regression to evaluate long-term trends and changes in the male-to-female suicide rate ratio.
What was found
Overall age-adjusted suicide rates showed no significant change (average annual percent change [AAPC]: -0.4%). Rates decreased significantly among men (AAPC: -0.7%) and remained stable overall among women, though increases occurred in selected female age groups. Suicide rates increased with age, especially in men aged 70+. The male-to-female mortality ratio widened with age, reaching 10.74 in the 95+ age group, but narrowed over time in four age cohorts (15-29, 50-54, 75-79, 80-84), primarily because of declining male rates.
Why it matters
This study tracks long-term nationwide demographic shifts in suicide mortality, demonstrating that despite modest overall declines in men, extreme sex disparities persist among older adults and midlife female rates require close attention.
Limits
The abstract does not report the absolute number of deaths analyzed. As an ecological analysis of aggregate vital statistics, it lacks individual-level clinical, psychiatric, or socioeconomic variables and cannot account for potential changes in death certification practices or cause-of-death misclassification over the 24-year period.
Cited by
- supports Suicide rates are higher among men than among women.