London: The economic slump in Europe and the US has led to more than 10,000 suicides, a media report said Thursday.
According to a study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, it showed “suicides have risen markedly”, BBC reported. The study conducted by the University of Oxford and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine analysed data from 24 European Union (EU) countries, the US and Canada.
The study showed that suicide rate had declined in Europe till 2007.
But, in 2009, there was a sudden 6.5 percent increase, a level that sustained until 2011. The suicide rate were also declining in Canada, but there was an increase when the recession hit in 2008, leading to 240 more suicides.
The number of people committing suicides was already increasing on a high in the US, but the rate “accelerated” with the economic crisis, leading to 4,750 additional deaths.
According to the study, losing a job, mortgages and debt are the major factors that compel a person to take his own life.
However, some countries in Europe including Sweden, Finland and Austria have avoided increases in the suicide rate during the recession.
“It shows policy potentially matters. One of the features of these countries is they invest in schemes that help people return to work, such as training, advice and even subsidised wages,” a researcher said in the study. (IANS)
