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. 2022 May 18:67:1604538.
doi: 10.3389/ijph.2022.1604538. eCollection 2022.

Role of Foreign-Born Status on Suicide Mortality in Spain Between 2000 and 2019: An Age-Period-Cohort Analysis

Gonzalo Martínez-Alés  1   2   3 , Catherine Gimbrone  1 , Caroline Rutherford  1 , Katherine Keyes  1 , Teresa López-Cuadrado  4
Affiliations

Role of Foreign-Born Status on Suicide Mortality in Spain Between 2000 and 2019: An Age-Period-Cohort Analysis

Gonzalo Martínez-Alés et al. Int J Public Health. .

Abstract

Objectives: To examine recent age-period-cohort effects on suicide among foreign-born individuals, a particularly vulnerable sociodemographic group in Spain. Methods: Using 2000-2019 mortality data from Spain's National Institute of Statistics, we estimated age-period-cohort effects on suicide mortality, stratified by foreign-born status (native- vs. foreign-born) and, among the foreign-born, by Spanish citizenship status, a proxy for greater socioeconomic stability. Results: Annual suicide mortality rates were lower among foreign- than native-born individuals. There was heterogeneity in age-period-cohort effects between study groups. After 2010, suicide mortality increased markedly among the foreign-born-especially for female cohorts born around 1950, and slightly among native-born women-especially among female cohorts born after the 1960s. Among native-born men, suicide increased linearly with age and remained stable over time. Increases in suicide among the foreign-born were driven by increases among individuals without Spanish citizenship-especially among cohorts born after 1975. Conclusion: After 2010, suicide in Spain increased markedly among foreign-born individuals and slightly among native-born women, suggesting an association between the downstream effects of the 2008 economic recession and increases in suicide mortality among socioeconomically vulnerable populations.

Keywords: age-period-cohort modelling; epidemiological model; migrant health; social determinants of health; suicide.

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Conflict of interest statement

KK has been compensated as an expert witness in litigation. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Period-specific suicide mortality rates across age among native-born males and females between 2000 and 2019 in Spain.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Period-specific suicide mortality rates across age among foreign-born males and females between 2000 and 2019 in Spain.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Age, period, and cohort effects on suicide among native-born males and females between 2000 and 2019 in Spain.
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Age, period, and cohort effects on suicide among foreign-born males and females between 2000 and 2019 in Spain.
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 5
Age, period, and cohort effects on suicide among foreign-born individuals between 2000 and 2019 in Spain, stratified by Spanish citizenship status.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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