Rate of suicide and suicide attempts and their relationship to unemployment in Thessaloniki Greece (2000–2012)

Introduction Recently there was a debate concerning the relationship between the economic crisis and an increase in attempted and completed suicides in Europe and especially in Greece. The aim of the current study was to calculate the rates of attempted and completed suicide per year in the county of Thessaloniki, Macedonia, northern Greece, for the years 2000–12, and to investigate their relationship with unemployment. Material and methods The archive of the Emergency Outpatient Units of three hospitals was investigated and the results were projected to the county population. Data from the Hellenic statistics authority concerning regional general population and suicides and unemployment were used. Results The rate of attempted suicides was 16.69–40.34 per 105 inhabitants for males and 41.43–110.82 for females. Medication was the preferred method for 95.93%. The completed suicide rates varied from 3.62 to 5.47 for males and from 0.19 to 1.95 per 105 inhabitants for females. The male attempt rate correlated negatively with regional male unemployment (−0.63). For females the respected value was similar (−0.72). Concerning competed suicide rates, the respected values were 0.34 and 0.65. The attempt was repeated by 15.34%; almost half-repeated within the same year and 75% within two years. The female to male ratio varied significantly across years with 2:1 (more females) being the probable value for attempts and 1:3.6 (more males) for completed suicides. Conclusion This is the first study from Greece reporting rates on the basis of hospital archives. Attempt and suicide rates are low in Greece. Attempts are negatively and suicides are positively correlated with unemployment.