Evolution of suicide in the Guardia Civil over a 39-year period (1982-2020): a retrospective case-control cohort study.

Abstract

Introduction: There is a discussion whether military and police corps show increased suicide rates, as the line of work is characterised by both protective and risk factors for suicidality. To examine deaths by suicide rates and trends in the Spanish Guardia Civil as compared with the general population.

Methods: This is a retrospective case-control cohort study. Guardia Civil provided data on suicides on the corps and total number of personnel per year for the period 1982-2020. Annual suicide rates were calculated. Suicide rates of age, gender and employment status equivalent control group were calculated for comparison purposes. These data were obtained from the Instituto Nacional de Estadística. Suicide trends for both groups and divided by sex were analysed through joinpoint regression analysis. Differences between groups were assessed through the Wilcoxon signed rank test.

Results: An uninterrupted downward trend without joinpoints was estimated for suicides in Guardia Civil during the complete study period. Annual percentage change for the total of Guardia Civil was -1.75, while for men it was -3.02. Suicide rates of men in Guardia Civil were higher than those of men in the active population by 60.7% in the period 1999-2009 (p=0.008). However, no differences between groups were found for the period 2010-2020 (p=0.297).

Conclusions: The suicide rate in the Guardia Civil has progressively decreased, now comparable to the active population. This decline may result from suicide prevention programmes and policy changes. Ongoing efforts to identify risk factors and improve interventions remain crucial to further reducing suicidality.