Suicide Mortality Among Active Employees Enrolled in the Agricultural Insurance Program Between 2007 and 2013: Description and Comparison with the General Population

Introduction: An excess of suicide-related deaths among agricultural workers has been documented in France and abroad. To the best of our knowledge, no previous study has examined suicide-related mortality among agricultural employees affiliated with the Mutualité sociale agricole (MSA). The objectives of the study were to describe suicide mortality among active agricultural employees affiliated with the MSA between 2007 and 2013 and to compare it with that of the general French population.Method: The number of suicides among active MSA-affiliated agricultural workers during the 2007–2013 period was quantified. Their distribution by method of suicide was then described. Finally, suicide mortality among these employees was compared to that of the general French population using standardized mortality ratios (SMR) for suicide.Results: The results show lower suicide mortality among active employees affiliated with the MSA compared to the general population: SMR = 0.81; 95% CI: [0.75–0.88] among men, and SMR = 0.46 [0.37–0.58] among women. Discussion and Conclusion: This lower suicide mortality rate compared to the general population is commonly observed in occupational cohort studies. It can be explained by a set of selection mechanisms collectively referred to as the “healthy worker effect,” but this does not allow us to conclude that certain groups among these employees do not face an excess risk of suicide.

Author(s): Klingelschmidt Justine, Chastang Jean-François, Khireddine-Medouni Imane, Chérié-Challine Laurence, Niedhammer Isabell

Publishing year: 2018

Pages: 549-555

Weekly Epidemiological Bulletin, 2018, n° 27, p. 549-555

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