Suicide and epidemiological parameters of tuberculosis: population level of relationship

Introduction: Until recently tuberculosis mortality and the suicide rates in Russia were both among the highest in the world. Tuberculosis and suicide belong to the medico-social problems and these epidemiological parameters are often considered as the indicators of psychosocial distress. There are theoretical premises and empirical evidence which suggest the positive association between suicide and mortality from tuberculosis at individual and population levels. Aims: The aim of present study was the attempt to reveal the aggregate level link between the epidemiological parameters of tuberculosis and the suicide rates in Russia. Methods: Trends in tuberculosis incidence/mortality and the suicide rates from 1980 to 2015 were analyzed employing a time series analysis in order to asses bivariate relationship between the time series. Results: The results of analysis indicate the presence of a statistically significant association between tuberculosis mortality and suicide rates at lag zero (r= 0,6; SE=0,17). The association between tuberculosis incidence and suicide rates was also positive, but less evident (r= 0,4; SE=0,17). Conclusions: The results of this study suggest positive aggregate-level association between tuberculosis mortality and suicide rates. This study indirectly supports the hypothesis that tuberculosis mortality can be considered as an indicator of psychosocial distress.