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Suicide in the Azores Archipelago - a epidemiological study and review

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 July 2023

J. Mendes Coelho ,
M. Bicho ,
C. Peixoto  and
H. Fontes
J. Mendes Coelho*
Affiliation:
Psychiatry, Hospital do Divino Espírito Santo de Ponta Delgada, Ponta Delgada, Portugal
M. Bicho
Affiliation:
Psychiatry, Hospital do Divino Espírito Santo de Ponta Delgada, Ponta Delgada, Portugal
C. Peixoto
Affiliation:
Psychiatry, Hospital do Divino Espírito Santo de Ponta Delgada, Ponta Delgada, Portugal
H. Fontes
Affiliation:
Psychiatry, Hospital do Divino Espírito Santo de Ponta Delgada, Ponta Delgada, Portugal
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

The phenomenon of suicide and self-harm is one of the most intriguing and disturbing human behaviours. Suicide is global public health problem, with multiple and complex contributing factors. Global trend show a stabilizing or descending curves in the last years. The Portuguese atlantic archipelago of Azores has had an opposite trend that together with regional proctective and risk factors ought to be addressed for further tailored interventions.

Objectives

Review of the up-to-date literature on this topic and present the recent suicide-related data in the Azores.

Methods

Unsystematic review of the most recent and relevant literature.

Results

Epidemiology, risk and protective factors, preventive and treatment measures were described.

The Azores region has a ascending trend in the suicide mortality rate, opposing the portuguese trend. The azorean suicide mortality rate has a bimodal distribution and has higher values in every age group, except for the +75yo, when compared with the portuguese rates.

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Conclusions

Multiple complex factors contribute to the suicide phenomenon. Suicide protective and risk factors mostly overlap with mental disorders’ factors and those of other health and socio-economic conditions.

Azorean suicide rates are growing against the global and national descending trends.

Prevention and treatment strategies to be implemented regionally must be fine tailored, accounting for the most relevant factors in place, in order to be most effective.

Disclosure of Interest

None Declared

Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 66 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 31st European Congress of Psychiatry , March 2023 , pp. S1109 - S1110
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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