Suicide in Montevideo – Uruguay: urban geographic inequalities and their association with socioeconomic level and social fragmentation

Abstract

Introduction: The objective was to describe the geography of suicide and its association with socioeconomic levels and social fragmentation in the city of Montevideo, Uruguay. A retrospective ecological study design was used considering the population aged 10+ residing in Montevideo during 2013-2017.

Materials and methods: Multivariate Bayesian hierarchical models were estimated to analyze the association between suicide risk and two factors at the census segment level: percentage of adult population with completed tertiary-university education, as an indicator of area socioeconomic level, and a social fragmentation index.

Results: The northern and western peripheries and the central area of Montevideo were the areas with the highest risk of suicide. Area socioeconomic level was associated with suicide risk, with areas with a better socioeconomic position tending to a lower frequency of suicides. Two variables used to construct the social fragmentation index showed a positive association with suicide risk: the percentage of single-person households and the percentage of migrant population.

Discussion: These findings may reflect the association between weak social ties and suicide risk at the intra-urban level, as well as the need to focus prevention policies on the outskirts of Montevideo.