Analysis of mortality from suicide in the Republic of Altai for the period of 1990-2019

In recent years, though there has been a significant decrease in mortality from suicide in the Russian Federation (RF), the problem does not lose its relevance, due to the unfavorable suicidal situation in distant regions. These regions include the Republic of Altai (RA), where the death rate from suicide is three times higher than the national average. Aim of the study is to analyze the dynamics of mortality from suicide in the RA for the period from 1990 to 2019, to compare the findings with similar indicators in the RF, and to identify the regional specifics of indicators. Material and methods. Data on mortality of the population were obtained from the international and Russian databases of demographic indicators. Indicators for individual regions are identified in accordance with the code of the subject of the Russian Federation. Cause-of-death analysis was assessed by the value of the corresponding cause-of-death code indicated in the concise Soviet nomenclature based on ICD9 and the concise Russian nomenclature of causes of death based on ICD10. The dynamics of mortality from suicide was analyzed in terms of indicators standardized per 100,000 population. The analysis of the age characteristics of mortality was carried out according to the indicators of the frequency of suicides, standardized by age. The analysis of gender differences in different age groups was carried out in terms of the rates of suicide, standardized by sex and age. Separately, the dynamics of mortality from suicide for children aged 10-14, adolescents aged 15-19, and youth aged 20-24 in the RA was assessed in terms of sex and age standardized indicators. Research results. In the RA, as well as in the RF as a whole, there has been an increase in the level of suicide since 1990, but in Altai it lasted for a longer period of time - for 13 years. Throughout the entire period, the suicide rates in the RA have consistently exceeded the all-Russian indicators by 1.5-3 times, and by 2019 the gap in indicators has doubled compared to 1990. The curve of mortality from suicide in the RA has a fluctuating character with spontaneous peaks, both during periods of growth and during periods of decline, in contrast to the curve in the Russian Federation that has the form of a “plateau”. Among adolescents and young people in the RA, the dynamics of mortality from suicide is extremely unstable, and the mortality curve has numerous fluctuations, with peaks in 1998, 2001, 2011 and 2014 in all age groups. Today, in comparison to 1990, the suicide rate has decreased slightly in the age group of 20-24 year-olds and there is an increase in rates by 4 times among adolescents aged 15-19. Conclusions. In the RA, the mortality rate from suicide in the period from 1990 to 2019 consistently exceeds the all-Russian indicators, by 2019 the gap in indicators has doubled. In children and adolescents of the RA, the death rate from suicide exceeds the all-Russian indicators from 7.9 to 9.3 times. The mortality curve from suicide is fluctuating in all age groups, which we associate with clustering of suicides. This phenomenon requires further study.