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Austerity measures increase suicide rates among men: study

Xinhua, November 12, 2015 Adjust font size:

The global financial crisis and resulting austerity measures implemented in poorer eurozone countries have led to a strong increase in the suicide rates among men there, a new study has claimed.

Authored by Nikolaus Antonakakis from the Webster Vienna Private University in Austria along with Alan Collins from the University of Portsmouth, the study claimed that the monetary crisis in the poorer countries of the currency union has the potential to also turn into a health crisis.

A press release from the Webster university on Wednesday said the researchers examined direct links between the suicide rate and effects of loss of revenue, government spending cuts, and youth unemployment.

It said that each percent of a negative GDP growth rate and its resulting impact on wage cuts in these poorer eurozone countries increased suicide rates by 0.9 percent across all age groups.

Reductions in government spending and subsequent impact on pensions and wages had a particular impact on men aged between 65 and 89 years of age, with 2,325 men taking their lives in 2011 and 2012 as a direct result of austerity effects on their personal lives. Between 2009 and 2014, the number totalled 4,555. Endit