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sxc.hu<\/p>\n
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Durban – The 2008 economic crash could be to blame for thousands of excess suicides worldwide. <\/p>\n
This is according to a paper published in the British Medical Journal on Tuesday. <\/p>\n
It found the rates were highest among males in countries where the most jobs were lost. <\/p>\n
In the United States and Canada, male suicides increased by 8.9 percent, while in Europe they increased by 4.2 percent. <\/p>\n
A number of countries in Eastern Europe suffered the highest increase with male suicide rising by 13.3 percent. <\/p>\n
There was no change in suicide in European females and a small increase was seen in US females. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou can never pinpoint exactly why people commit suicide – it\u2019s always an amalgamation of different stresses,\u201d said Meryl da Costa, the press officer for the South African Depression and Anxiety Group. <\/p>\n
Da Costa said in South Africa, HIV and depression as well as poverty related to unemployment were big drivers of suicide. <\/p>\n
Males were four-and-a-half times more likely to commit suicide then women, but this was because they were more successful as they used more violent methods. <\/p>\n
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