@article{Loureiro_Almendra_Costa_Santana_2018, place={Lisbon, Portugal}, title={Mortality from Suicide in the Municipalities of Mainland Portugal: Spatio-Temporal Evolution between 1980 and 2015}, volume={31}, url={https://actamedicaportuguesa.com/revista/index.php/amp/article/view/9423}, DOI={10.20344/amp.9423}, abstractNote={<p><strong>Introduction:</strong> Suicide is considered a public health priority. It is a complex phenomenon resulting from the interaction of several factors, which do not depend solely on individual conditions. This study analyzes the spatio-temporal evolution of suicide mortality between 1980 and 2015, identifying areas of high risk, and their variation, in the 278 municipalities of Continental Portugal.<br /><strong><br />Material and Methods:</strong> Based on the number of self-inflicted injuries and deaths from suicide and the resident population, the spatio-temporal evolution of the suicide mortality rate was assessed via: i) a Poisson joinpoint regression model, and ii) spatio-temporal clustering methods.<br /><strong><br />Results:</strong> The suicide mortality rate evolution showed statistically significant increases over three periods (1980 - 1984; 1999 - 2002 and 2006 - 2015) and two statistically significant periods of decrease (1984 - 1995 and 1995 - 1999). The spatio-temporal analysis identified five clusters of high suicide risk (relative risk >1) and four clusters of low suicide risk (relative risk < 1).<br /><strong><br />Discussion:</strong> The periods when suicide mortality increases seem to overlap with times of economic and financial instability. The geographical pattern of suicide risk has changed: presently, the suicide rates from the municipalities in the Center and North are showing more similarity with those seen in the South, thus increasing the ruralization of the phenomenon of suicide.<br /><strong><br />Conclusion:</strong> Between 1980 and 2015 the spacio-temporal pattern of mortality from suicide has been changing and is a phenomenon that is currently experiencing a growing trend (since 2006) and is of higher risk in rural areas.</p><p> </p>}, number={1}, journal={Acta Médica Portuguesa}, author={Loureiro, Adriana and Almendra, Ricardo and Costa, Cláudia and Santana, Paula}, year={2018}, month={Jan.}, pages={38–44} }