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Background: This paper investigates whether declines in suicide by insecticide poisoning in India following a national ban on endosulfan in 2011were associated with changes in other methods of suicide and total suicide rates.Method: Method-specific suicide rates between 2001-2014 were calculated using National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data by sex, age group and region, with observed rates compared to expected rates for the period post-2011.Results: There were an estimated 20,146 fewer male and 8,418 fewer female suicides by insecticide poisoning and 5542 fewer male and 2679 fewer female suicides by all other methods following the national endosulfan ban. Contemporaneously, an estimated 92% (23,812) of male and 60% (6,735) of female suicides prevented by insecticide poisoning and all other methods were offset to increases in suicides by hanging and other poisoning. Joinpoint regression indicated a decrease in suicide by insecticide poisoning following the endosulfan ban (annual percentage change (APC) of -12.18 among males and -11.89 among females between 2010-2014) while an increase in male suicide by hanging was noted between 2009-2014 (APC of 7.05).Limitation: Suicide rates based on the NCRB data might be an underestimation of the true suicide rates.Conclusion: Declines in suicide by insecticide poisoning were largely offset by an increase in hanging suicides among males, however, this phenomenon was much less prominent in females and contributed to declines in total female suicide rates. Prevention strategies must continue to focus on pesticide bans with simultaneous attention on hanging prevention policies to reduce overall suicide rates in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: India accounts for over a quarter of the global burden of suicide. One of the most effective population level suicide prevention strategies has been restricting access to suicide means.Method: Trends in method specific suicide rates (2001-14) were calculated using National Crime Records Bureau data stratified by sex, age-group, and geographical region. Multilevel negative binomial regression models stratified by sex and suicide method were specified to investigate associations between state-level indicators of economic development, education, agricultural pesticide use and religious factors.Results: Suicide by hanging increased by 56% (from 3.9 to 6.1 per 100,000) among males and by 24% (from 2.1 to 2.6 per 100,000) among females over the study period while incidence of insecticide poisoning decreased by 44% (from 2.7 to 1.5 per 100,000) among males and by 52% (from 1.7 to 0.8 per 100,000) among females. In general, states with higher levels of development, higher agricultural employment and higher literacy had higher rates of suicide for each suicide method. States with higher levels of agricultural pesticide use had higher rates of insecticide poisoning suicides.Limitation: Reported rates might be an underestimation of the true rates as the official data used for the analysis likely underestimates the actual number of suicide deaths in India.Conclusion: Responsible reporting of suicide by hanging in the media, and limiting fictional portrayals of this method may be useful areas for prevention. Further restrictions on production and sales of highly hazardous pesticides may also help with further reductions in suicide by pesticide poisoning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There has been substantial discussion as to whether the mental health and socio-economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic might impact suicide rates. Although India accounts for the largest proportion of global suicides, the early impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on suicide rates in this country are unknown.Methods: National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data were used to calculate annual suicide rates for the period 2010-2020, stratified by sex and state. Rate Ratios (RRs) stratified by sex and state were calculated to estimate the extent of change in suicide rates.Results: Suicide rates in India generally showed a decreasing trend from 2010 until 2017, with the trend reversing after this period, particularly for males. Among males and females, the highest increase post 2017 was noted in 2020 (compared to 2017) (males: RR = 1.18 95% UI 1.17-1.19; females: RR = 1.05 95% UI 1.03-1.06).Limitation: Suicide rates based on the NCRB data might be an underestimation of the true suicide rates.Conclusion: Suicide rates in India increased during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, and although the increase in suicide rates, especially among males, predates the pandemic, the increase in suicide rates was highest in 2020, compared to increases in previous years. Further research is warranted to understand the potential ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on suicide in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]