Suicide and murder rates increase during recession

Wednesday 8th July 2009

A study out today has shown the economic crisis increases the rates of suicides and murders but decreases the number of road traffic accidents.

In an article published Online First and in The Lancet, Dr David Stuckler, University of Oxford, and Professor Martin McKee, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, look at how the economy affects mortality.

The researchers found active labour market programmes could "mitigate some of the adverse effects" of the recession. The study concentrated on the past three decades across the 26 European Union countries, identifying how governments could reduce the adverse affects of recession.

They found for every one per cent increase in unemployment there was a 0.8 per cent rise in suicide rates for those under 65 years old. Murder rates also rose 0.8 per cent.

The authors said: "Some negative health effects of the Great Depression seem to have been manifested only five to seven years after the bank crises of the late 1920s and early 1930s.

"A related concern is that fear and anxiety in the present crisis could be particularly long-lasting; even when the market recovers, people's worries and associated behaviours (such as health-care seeking, or alterations to health-system budgets) might not."

However, road traffic deaths decreased by 1.4 per cent, perhaps due to people walking or taking public transport to save money.

The authors added: "The analysis also suggests that governments might be able to protect their populations, specifically by budgeting for measures that keep people employed, helping those who lose their jobs cope with the negative effects of unemployment, and enabling unemployed people to regain work quickly."

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