Income inequality and risk of suicide in New York City neighborhoods: a multilevel case-control study.
Evidence on the relationship between income inequality and suicide is inconsistent. Data from the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for all fatal injuries was collected to conduct a multilevel case-control study. In multilevel models, suicide decedents (n=374) were more likely than accident controls (n=453) to reside in neighborhoods with greater income inequality even after controlling for individual characteristics; this relation was modified by age with an effect overall and among decedents aged 15-34 but not among decedents 35-64. These data suggest that income inequality may contribute to the risk of suicide in younger adults.
Miller
Jeffrey R
JR
Center for Urban Epidemiologic Studies, New York Academy of Medicine, NY 10029, USA.
Piper
Tinka Markham
TM
Ahern
Jennifer
J
Tracy
Melissa
M
Tardiff
Kenneth J
KJ
Vlahov
David
D
Galea
Sandro
S
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009519:New York City / Q000453:epidemiology; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*