The 2008 global economic crisis led to an increase in suicides in Europe and America, particularly among men, a new study reported.
The rate of suicides dramatically increased in countries with the highest job-losses. Previous studies have shown that the economic crisis led to increase in child abuse in the past few years. The credit-crunch also led to an rise in the number of skin-related conditions like eczema and psoriasis. Another related study had linked higher rates of suicide in the U.S. to economic recession.
Researchers at the universities of Hong Kong, Oxford and Bristol used data from 54 countries to look at the suicide rates after 2008. The study used employment as the main economic indicator.
It was observed that suicides increased among men, particularly in countries that didn't have employment problems before their economy spiraled downwards. Male suicide rates rose by over 3 percent in all the countries studied, with a total of 5000 excess suicides in the countries affected by recession.
In America, the highest suicide rates were observed among middle-aged men (45-64 years. On the other hand, younger men (15-24 years) were badly hit by the economic slowdown in Europe.
Researchers say that the study findings are consistent with previous reports that link higher suicide rates with economic meltdown. A similar rise in suicides among males was seen during the Great Depression in the 1930s.
Just the tip of the iceberg
As the data for the study was limited to just 54 countries, scientists say that the results might be "an underestimate of the true global impact of the economic crisis on suicide".
The increase in the number of suicides might reflect a minority of the problems associated with a bad economy. For every suicide, there are about 30 to 40 suicide attempts.
The study is published in the journal BMJ.