Objective:

To analyze the space-time pattern and the factors associated with suicide mortality among young people in northeastern Brazil.

Method

An ecological study that analyzed suicide deaths among young people aged 15 to 24 years in the Northeast region. Joinpoint software was used for temporal analysis and spatial analysis was carried out using local empirical Bayesian methods, Global and Local Moran Index and scanning spatial statistics technique. The multivariate model Ordinary Least Squares Estimation was used to identify the factors associated with mortality. The Scan scanning method identified six statistically significant spatial suicide clusters.

Results

Suicide among young people showed significant growth (p<0.001) of 2.8% per year in the Northeast region in the period studied. Moran's scattering analysis identified spatial clusters of deaths in the states of Piauí, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte and Paraíba. The indicators: percentage of unemployed from 15 to 24 years (β = -0.05; p=0.02) and percentage of vulnerable to poverty (β =-0.06; p=0.03) had a negative association, while the illiteracy rate from 18 to 24 years (β= 0.15; p=0.01) and the percentage of people aged 18 to 24 years with complete elementary school (β = 0,09; p<0,001) positive association with suicide mortality among young people.

Conclusions

There was a significant increase in suicide among young people in the Northeast region. Clusters with the highest suicide rates were located in the state of Piauí. Four socioeconomic indicators were associated with suicide among young people in the region.

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