The Association Between Suicide and the Socio-Economic Characteristics of Geographical Areas: a Systematic Review

A systematic review of the literature from 1897-2004 regarding the direction of the association between socioeconomic characteristics & area suicide rates was performed. 86 publications met study criteria. Analyses at the community level are signficantly more likely to demonstrate lower rates of suicide among higher socioeconomic areas than studies using large areas of aggregation. Measures of area poverty & deprivation are most likely to be inversely associated with suicide rates. Analyses using measures of unemployment, education, & occupation were equally likely to demonstrate inverse associations. Study results did not vary significantly by gender or study design. (145 refs.)