Suchergebnisse

Background: With an average suicide rate of approximately 30 per 100,000, Slovenia has been regarded as a country with a high suicide rate. In the last decade, however, the suicide rate has gradually decreased to 20.3 per 100,000. Aim: To undertake an analysis of the suicide rate and its characteristics between 1997 and 2010 and to establish whether preventive activities had a significant effect on the suicide rate in the period studied. Method: Data on all 7,317 completed suicides between 1997 and 2010 were obtained from the National Mortality Database. Trends over this period were assessed separately for gender, age, method of suicide, and regional distribution. Data on implemented suicide preventive activities were assessed via regional Public Health Institutes. Results: The suicide rate declined in both genders and in all age groups, except in males aged 10–19 years. The most frequently used method in both genders was hanging. Regions with the highest suicide rate are concentrated in the eastern part of Slovenia. The suicide rate significantly decreased in six regions, but no firm association with preventive activities could be established. Conclusion: Suicide in Slovenia declined significantly during the study period. Preventive activities appear not to have had any notable effect on this decline.

Background: Previous studies have reported that many suicide victims have had contact with their physicians a week or month prior to their suicide. Aims: To assess the date of the last appointment (and complaint) of suicide victims in the Škofja Loka region within Slovenia. Method: We included all suicide victims in the region in the period 1993—2003. Each of the cases was assigned the closest control in terms of age and gender. Medical death certificates served as a source of demographic data information and information about suicide method. From personal medical records we obtained the date of the last appointment (and the complaint) with the primary care physician. The same was done for the control group. The groups were compared for their last appointment with their physician (date and complaint). Results: Thirty out of 77 suicide victims visited their physician in the last month before suicide (14/77 in the last week); only 16/77 controls did so before the index day (3/77 in the last week). In 30% of suicide victims, the reason for the last visit was mental health problems (only 3% in the control group). Conclusion: The results emphasize the important role of primary care physicians in suicide prevention.

Summary: The number of adolescents who attempt or complete suicide is increasing. Risk factors range from mental disorders, to problems at school, family problems, or difficulties in establishing relationships. A further important, and too often underestimated, risk factor for adolescent suicide is the presence of suicidal behavior in the adolescent's family. We investigated 184 high school adolescents in a region in Slovenia with a high suicide rate (30/100,000/year). They were questioned by means of an anonymous questionnaire about the presence of suicidal behavior in their relatives and about the presence of suicidal thoughts, plans, and acts in themselves. The results revealed that 13% of the adolescents studied had a relative who had attempted suicide and a further 9% of the adolescents had lost a relative due to suicide. About half of all females and almost a third of males had had suicidal thoughts (differences between sexes were statistically significant: χ2= 6.13; p < .01). Attempted suicide among relatives was positively correlated with the presence of suicidal plans among adolescents (Φ = 0.15; p < .05). This correlation proved to be even stronger and statistically more significant in men when we split the sample by gender. All variables (suicidal thoughts, suicidal plans, and suicide attempts) in the adolescent males positively correlated with attempted suicide among their relatives (Φ = 0.28, p < .01; Φ = 0.26, p < .05; Φ = 0.34, p < .01; respectively). Our results speak in favor of a higher risk of suicidal behavior among adolescents with suicidal behavior in their families.

Abstract: Background: Between 2001 and 2020, Slovenia lost 8,952 lives due to suicides, two thirds of them by hanging. Aim: To analyze trends in suicide methods between 2001 and 2020 and to explore relationships between suicide methods and selected sociodemographic characteristic. Methods: We focused on methods accounting for 95.7% of all suicides. We performed joinpoint regression to examine changes in suicide rates by respective methods and multivariate logistic regression analyses to study sociodemographics associated with specific suicide methods. Results: A gender-specific annual decrease in suicide rates was observed in all methods except for sharp objects and jumping or lying in front of a moving object. Age was statistically significant in the use of firearms and jumping or lying in front of a moving object, while gender was significant in all methods. Associations were found between education, marital status, region of residence, and various suicide methods. Limitations: The results are potentially culturally specific. Conclusion: Certain sociodemographics seem to be associated with the selection of the method.

Abstract. Background: With an average suicide rate of 20 per 100,000 in the last decade, Slovenia is above the EU average. There are considerable regional differences in suicide mortality within the country. Aim: We aimed to investigate the relationship between selected indicators at area level and the suicide rate in Slovenian municipalities. Method: Sociodemographic, socioeconomic, and (mental) health data in the years 2012–2016 were analyzed for 212 municipalities. Robust correlation and regression analyses were performed to determine the relationship between different variables and the suicide rate. Results: The suicide rate was positively associated with the percentage of male inhabitants, the high social cohesion in the neighborhood, and the number of sick leave days per capita. It was negatively related to the net income per capita, the marriage rate, the divorce rate, and the availability of professional mental healthcare services. Limitations: The small suicide frequencies within municipalities constitute a limitation of the study. Conclusion: Factors at local, municipal level can be linked to the risk of suicide. In Slovenia, neighborhood cohesion is one of the factors that should be considered when designing suicide prevention measures in a community.

Background: Different types of marital status are associated with different levels of suicidal risk. Aims: To study marital status change and the effect of its recency in relation to suicidal behavior. Methods: Suicide victims (1614) in Slovenia and matched controls (4617) were compared for incidence and recency of marital status change during the last 5 years of their lives. Results: A higher percentage of suicide victims (10.7%) had a marital status change in the last 5 years compared with the controls (5.6%). All types of marital status changes (becoming widowed, getting divorced, getting married) proved to be risk factors for suicidal behavior. Almost half of all marital status changes in suicide victims occurred in the year prior to suicide, whereas marital status changes in the control group were equally distributed over the last 5 years. For recently married and divorced people, the increase in suicide risk depended on age: The risk was higher in older people. Conclusions: Marital status change represents a risk factor for suicidal behavior. The first year after the change is critical for elevated suicidal risk, in particular for older people.

Abstract: Background: Online implementation of suicide prevention interventions offers many advantages, facilitating the dissemination of large-scale suicide prevention interventions. An online tool iAlive aimed at raising awareness and increasing suicide prevention competences in lay people was developed and implemented in Slovenia. Aims: To develop, implement, and evaluate the iAlive tool. Method: Following the development and implementation of the tool, a nonrandomized controlled study with 310 participants was conducted. One hundred fifty-six of them fully completed the study [intervention group (used the iAlive tool): N = 85, control group (did not use the tool): N = 71]. Perceived competences in engaging with a suicidal person were assessed in both groups at baseline and at follow-up (3–4 weeks apart), which also represents the time of the intervention. Results: A significant effect of time and condition [ F(1,149) = 6.62, p = .011, η p2 = .043] showed that the intervention group assessed their perceived competences on intervention exposure more positively compared to the control group. Limitations: Additional data on different populations and people's engagement with the tool in relation to perceived competences are needed. Conclusion: The study suggests that the interactive online tool iAlive effectively increases perceived competences in engaging with a suicidal person. These results provide a background for further dissemination of the tool.