The global economic crisis that has come to be known as the Great Recession appears to have fueled an increase in suicides, including an estimated 5,000 additional deaths in 2009, a new study says.
Although previous research has linked the recession to higher suicide rates in various countries, no studies have tried to measure these effects on a global scale.
So researchers at the University of Hong Kong and other institutions examined suicide trends in 54 countries around the world, using data on unemployment, gross domestic product and suicide deaths from the World Health Organization, the International Monetary Fund and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Their analysis revealed an association between unemployment and suicide rates, which was especially strong for men in countries that used to have low unemployment.
In 2009 alone, 37% higher unemployment seems to have fueled a 3.3% increase in the global suicide rate for men, according to the study, published online Tuesday by the journal BMJ. That 3.3% uptick translates into an additional 5,000 deaths.
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