Suicide loss of a close family member in childhood and suicide later in life-a nationwide study among Inuit youth in Kalaallit Nunaat.

Abstract

Suicide-related loss in close relations may lead to complicated grief and increase individual suicide risk. In Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland), 60% of the population has lost a family member or a close friend to suicide. The study aimed to investigate the association between suicide-related loss of a close family member before the age of 10 and later suicide incidence. The study was a nationwide study using data from the central population register and register of causes of death including 25 663 individuals born between 1983 and 2012. Exposure was the loss of a mother, father, or one or more siblings before the age of 10 and outcome was suicide. Follow-up started at age 10 until the time of death, 40th birthday, or the study termination on 31 December 2022. Incidence rates and incidence rate ratios (IRR) were calculated using Poisson regression. Suicide-related loss of a mother was associated with the highest IRR of 3.4 (95% CI: 1.6-7.2). Suicide-related loss of a father was associated with an IRR of 1.9 (95% CI: 1-3.4), while suicide-related loss of one or more siblings was associated with an IRR of 2.4 (95% CI: 1.3-4.3). Transgenerational suicide transmission was identified in individuals who lost a close relative before the age of 10, with the highest IRR for loss of a mother. The high prevalence of suicide-related loss survivors stresses the need for public health strategies to ensure culturally relevant support.