Individual-level determinants of suicide: Evidence from universal insurance claims and cause-of-death statistics

Abstract

This study analyzes the effects of socioeconomic variables on individual suicides using Proportional Hazards (PH) and Accelerated Failure Time (AFT) models. Utilizing linked data from South Korea’s universal health insurance claims and cause-of-death records, the analysis examines age, gender, disability, and insurance premiums (a proxy for income) as determinants of suicide-related mortality. Results show that suicide risk increases with age and disability but decreases with higher insurance premiums, while women have lower risk and longer survival times. Mental illness diagnoses show no significant impact. Within the PH model, only age emerges as a statistically significant predictor, with other variables not reaching conventional significance levels.