To identify relationships between multiple causes of death information and a decedent’s sex and education in suicide compared with accidental deaths.
Based on the US Mortality Multiple Cause-of-Death Public Use Record from 2010 to 2019, we performed correspondence analysis to visualise the relationships between comorbidity and sex-education profiles of individuals who died by suicide, and logistic regression models to estimate the odds that a comorbidity group is associated with suicide deaths relative to accidental deaths.
Sex and education are important factors of comorbidity registration in suicide deaths, but sex explains most of it. Having a high school degree was differentiated from other educational level groups among males’ suicide deaths. Poisoning due to drugs and medication, mood disorders, and other mental and behavioural disorders are more associated with females, while neoplasms and injuries are associated with male suicides. Schizophrenia, mood disorders, and anxiety, dissociative and non-psychotic disorders have higher odds of suicide compared with accidental death.
This study highlights the need for adapted prevention among sex-educational groups to prevent suicide due to their differences in registered comorbidity.