Geospatial analysis of suicide rates in Colombia, and its association with sociodemographic and socioeconomic indexes

Abstract

Abstract Objectives To analyze the geospatial pattern and geographic inequality of suicide rate and their association between sociodemographic and socioeconomic indicators in Colombian cities between 2015 and 2021. Methodology: Cross-sectional, ecological study. The crude and adjusted suicide rate for each city and different sociodemographic and socioeconomic indicators were calculated to construct a multilevel explanatory model of the distribution and spatial pattern of suicide mortality rates, and spatial associations were evaluated at the global and local levels. Results The median suicide attempt rate was 48.6 cases per 100,000 population and the median SR was 7.25 cases per 100,000 population. The explanatory model included the rate of suicide attempts, unemployment, the number of mental health institutions, the percentage of lifetime problematic alcohol consumption, multidimensional poverty by headwaters, and the monetary poverty gap. This model showed a reduction in the estimated suicide rate with an explained variance of 66.7% (Null: SR = 7.3, MRR = 1.64, Moran = 0.2; Final: SR = 5.4, MRR = 1.3, Moran=-0.05). Conclusions Evidence is provided that cities with more unfavorable sociodemographic and socioeconomic ecological conditions tend to have higher suicide mortality rates and are neighbors, whose spatial pattern implies a geographic inequality of magnitude greater than the strength of association with the sociodemographic and socioeconomic variables. Furthermore, there is a higher mortality in men but a greater magnitude of inequality for women.