Exploratory study on suicide mortality among children and adolescents in Brazil

Abstract

Introduction: Suicide is an important public health problem and has been increasing in the youngers. The literature focused on these segments is scarce. Part of these studies aggregates the population aged 10-19 in a single category, disregarding the important differences between the groups, which in suicide studies are conventionally called children (10-14 years old) and adolescents (15-19 years old). Objectives: To describe, in a comparative way, the characteristics and rates of suicide among children (10-14 years old) and adolescents (15-19 years old) in Brazil. Method: Descriptive study, covering the period from 2012 to 2016, using data from national information systems. Deaths of people aged 10-19 years, whose basic cause was classified as “voluntary self-harm”, were selected. Results: The most used method was hanging. The second most common method varied according to sex - in males, firearms were more frequent and in females, intoxication. Death occurred more frequently at home. Female girls and adolescents died more frequently in hospitals/health facilities. Among children, there was a higher percentage of indigenous people. Among children, the suicide mortality rate was 0.8/100,000 (0.9/100,000 for boys and 0.7/100,000 for girls). Among adolescents, the rate was 4.2/100,000, being 6.0/100,000 for males and 2.4/ 00,000 for females. Rates varied according to macro-regions. Conclusion: Gender asymmetries and variations in suicide rates among children and adolescents, potentially useful for the elaboration of strategies to prevent this disease, were evidenced.