Suicides in the indigenous and non-indigenous populations in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Northwestern Russia, and associated socio-demographic characteristics

Abstract

BackgroundTo describe suicide rates in the indigenous and non-indigenous populations of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug (NAO) in 2002–2012, as well as associated socio-demographic characteristics.Study designRetrospective population-based mortality study.MethodsData from autopsy reports were used to identify 252 cases of suicide in the NAO in 2002–2012. Data on socio-demographic characteristics of these cases were obtained from passports and medical records at local primary health care units, and were then linked to total population data from the Censuses in 2002 and 2010. Suicide rates for the indigenous Nenets population and the non-indigenous population were standardized to the European standard population. The rates were also estimated according to different socio-demographic characteristics and compared by calculating relative risks.ResultsThe crude suicide rates were 79.8 per 100,000 person-years (PYs) in the Nenets population and 49.2 per 100,000 PYs in the non-indigenous population. The corresponding standardized estimates were 72.7 per 100,000 PYs and 50.7 per 100,000 PYs. The highest suicide rates in the Nenets population were observed in the age group 20–29 years (391 per 100,000 PYs), and in females aged 30–39 years (191 per 100,000 PYs). Socio-demographic characteristics associated with high suicide rates in the Nenets population were age 20–39 years, male, urban residence, having secondary school or higher education, being an employee or employer, and being single or divorced. Males aged 20–29 years, and females aged 30–39 and aged 70 years and above had the highest suicide rates in the non-indigenous population (137.5, 21.6 and 29.9 per 100,000 PYs, respectively). The elevated suicide rates observed in the non-indigenous population were associated with male sex, rural residence, secondary school education, being an employee or employer, and being single or divorced.ConclusionsSuicide rates in the NAO were substantially higher among the indigenous Nenets population than the non-indigenous population, and were associated with different socio-demographic characteristics.

Spatial-temporal trends and risk of suicide in Central Brazil: an ecological study contrasting indigenous and non-indigenous populations

“…However, only among nonindigenous people did the number of deaths by suicide occurring in hospitals and public places (e.g., the streets) surpass the number of suicides occurring at home. The pattern observed among the indigenous population of Mato Grosso do Sul corresponds to findings both in other indigenous populations 6,7,25 and in predominantly agricultural non-indigenous populations. 30 The frequent occurrence of deaths by suicide in hospitals and public places in the non-indigenous population may reflect the easier access to these structures typical of the urban world.…”

“…Evidence also points to ethnic inequality in suicide in Brazil, with notable excess suicide mortality in the indigenous population. This is similar to observations from around the world, notably in Canada, 3 Norway, 4 the United States, 5 Russia, 6 and Australia. 7 The state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, has the highest suicide mortality rate among indigenous people in the country.…”

“…This indicates that the high rate of suicides in the general population of the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, and possibly in the entire Brazilian Central-West macro-region, cannot be explained exclusively by the excess of suicides in the indigenous population. The simultaneous occurrence of markedly high suicide rates in the indigenous population and rates above those commonly observed in Brazil in the non-indigenous population is analogous to those reported in remote regions of other countries, as in the case of Russia's northeast region 6 and of Australia's Northern Territory, 7 where socioeconomic inequality is also a reality.…”

Rethinking Women’s Empowerment: Insights from the Russian Arctic

“…In the NAO, indigenous women's ways of life have been addressed by Tuula Tuisku (study on changing indigenous female roles and historical prerequisites for female flight from Nenets tundra, Tuisku 2001), Vladislava Vladimirova (case study on Nenets women's strategies and personal struggles between tradition and modernity, Vladimirova 2018), Yury Sumarokov (research on deviant and suicidal behavior in Nenets indigenous communities and the role of gender, Sumarokov et al 2014), and the co-author's study on underlying causes of the urbanization of Nenets indigenous women in the NAO (Rozanova 2019).…”

Adaptation strategies to climate change in the Arctic: a global patchwork of reactive community-scale initiatives

“…Not only are they exposed to direct impacts of climate-driven environmental impact on food availability, they may have very high (among highest in the world) exposures to some pollutants transferred through the food chain including heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants (Armitage et al 2011). Although there are large differences in specifics of environmental change impacts and vulnerability of different groups to those impacts geographically, many indigenous communities across the regions face similar problems ranging from emergence and spread of infectious diseases (Parkinson et al 2014) to increased rates of anxiety and suicide across various indigenous groups (IPCC 2014, Sumarokov et al 2014. The local-scale initiatives can be used to test various approaches to addressing the wide-spread common issues but should subsequently lead to a synthesized regional or state-level initiatives aimed at capturing a large proportion of affected population.…”