MORTALIDADE POR SUICÍDIO NA REGIÃO SUL DO BRASIL: UM ESTUDO ECOLÓGICO.

The study aimed to analyze suicide rates and spatial autocorrelation in municipalities within the Southern region of Brazil. It is an ecological, descriptive, and retrospective epidemiological study that utilized mortality data from the Information System provided by the Department of Informatics of the Unified Health System for the period from 2010 to 2020. Suicide mortality rates served as the basis for spatial analysis, including spatial autocorrelation, using Global and Local Moran's Index. A total of 28,468 suicide cases were confirmed in the Southern region, with Rio Grande do Sul accumulating the highest proportion of deaths (n=13,250; 46.54%) and the highest mortality rate (15.40/100,000 inhabitants) among the states. Spatial analysis revealed areas with a higher association of elevated suicide mortality rates in the Southern region of Brazil, enabling the identification of priority areas for attention within the states of this region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]