Correlation between Suicide Rate and Murder, Peace, Life Expectancy, Human Development, and Gender Inequality Indices in 2016 and Its Comparison with 2019 in Different Countries: An Ecological Study

Suicide, with the concept of ending human life, is considered one of the highest causes of death in the world. The purpose of this study was to determine the correlation of the suicide rate with the indices of homicide, peace, life expectancy, human development, and gender inequality. It also compared these indices in 2016 and 2019 in different countries of the world.

In this ecological study, the information of the study variables was extracted from reports and reliable websites for 144 countries of the world. The correlation between study variables was checked using Spearman test. Then, linear regression was used to check the relationship of each index with the suicide rate. Also, the mean and median of the variables in 2016 and 2019 were compared using paired t-test and Wilcoxon test.

In the studied countries, the average suicide rate in 2019 (7.15) decreased compared to 2016 (7.25) per 100,000 people. The results of the correlation test showed that there was a direct relationship between suicide and gender inequality (r=0.406; p<0.001). Also, there was an inverse correlation between suicide rate and homicide index (r=-0.260; p<0.05) and peace (r=-0.371; p<0.001) in this study. The results of the regression analysis showed that the independent variables of gender inequality, suicide, peace, and life expectancy can probably predict changes in the suicide index in the studied countries.

Based on the results of the present study, suicide is related to indicators of gender inequality, homicide, peace, and life expectancy. It seems that the reduction of social inequalities can lead to suicide prevention in the world.