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Male suicide mortality in eastern Finland - urban - rural changes during a 10-year period between 1988 and 1997

Department of Psychiatry, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, tuula.pesonen{at}kuh.fi

Jukka Hintikka

Department of Psychiatry, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio

Kari O. Karkola

Provincial State Office of Eastern Finland, Department of Social Affairs and Health, Kuopio, Finland

Pirjo I. Saarinen

Department of Psychiatry, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio

Marja Antikainen

Department of Psychiatry, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio

Johannes Lehtonen

Department of Psychiatry, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio

Aims: To investigate urban -rural differences in male suicide mortality between 1988 and 1997 in the province of Kuopio in eastern Finland. Methods: Male suicide mortality between 1988 and 1997 was studied in eastern Finland. The data were collected from official autopsy reports. Age, marital status, household type, place of death, method of suicide and the region within the county were analysed. Results: The age-adjusted male suicide mortality remained quite constant at 67 and 65/100,000 (>15 years of age) in 1988 and 1997, respectively. In urban areas, a decline in suicide rates was noted in all age groups of men, whereas in rural areas, after an initial decline, a marked increase took place during the last years of the study period, especially among middle-aged and elderly men. This coincided with the time of recovery from an economic recession in Finland that particularly affected rural areas. Conclusion: Male suicide mortality may be regionally diverging in Finland.

Key Words: age • economic recession • male • suicide • urban -rural.

Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, Vol. 29, No. 3, 189-193 (2001)
DOI: 10.1177/14034948010290030601


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