Evaluating the Impact of Alcohol Policy on Suicide Mortality: A Sex-Specific Time-Series Analysis for Lithuania.
Arch Suicide Res
; 27(2): 339-352, 2023.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-34779348
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
It is reasonable to believe that the alcohol policy environment can impact the suicide mortality rates in a given country, considering the well-known link between alcohol use and death by suicide. The current literature, albeit limited, suggests that an increase in alcohol taxation may result in a decrease in deaths by suicide and that the effect is sex-specific. Therefore, the objective of the current study was to test the impact of three alcohol control policy enactments (in 2008, 2017 and 2018) on suicide mortality among adults 25-74 years of age in Lithuania, by sex.METHODS:
To estimate the unique impact of three alcohol control policies, we conducted interrupted time-series analyses by employing a generalized additive mixed model on monthly sex-specific age-standardized suicide mortality rates from January 2001 to December 2018.RESULTS:
Analyses showed a significant impact of the 2017 (p = 0.016) alcohol control policy on suicide mortality for men only. Specifically, we estimated that in the year following the 2017 policy enactment, approximately 57 (95% CI 9-107) deaths by suicide were prevented among men, 25-74 years of age. The three policy enactments tested were not found to significantly impact the suicide mortality rate among women.CONCLUSION:
Alcohol control policies involving pricing, which result in a notable decrease in alcohol affordability, could be a cost-effective indirect suicide prevention mechanism in not only countries of the former Soviet Union, but in other high-income countries with a comparable health care system to that in Lithuania. HIGHLIGHTSIncreasing excise tax on alcohol was found to have a sex-specific impact on suicide mortalityThe 2017 alcohol policy prevented 57 deaths by suicide among men, 25-74 years of age, in the following yearAlcohol pricing policies may be a cost-effective indirect suicide prevention mechanism.Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Contexto en salud:
2_ODS3
/
6_ODS3_enfermedades_notrasmisibles
Problema de salud:
2_cobertura_universal
/
6_mental_health_behavioral_disorders
Asunto principal:
Suicidio
/
Consumo de Bebidas Alcohólicas
Límite:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
País/Región como asunto:
Europa
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Arch Suicide Res
Asunto de la revista:
CIENCIAS DO COMPORTAMENTO
Año:
2023
Tipo del documento:
Article