The ESEMeD 2000 study provided data on the prevalence of suicidality in 6 EU countries in the respondents’ lifetime and during the 12 months previous to the interview. The study also provided data on the factors associated with suicidality. The respondents were asked if they had seriously thought about committing suicide, and whether they had attempted suicide. Lifetime prevalence of suicidal ideas in ESEMeD was 7.8% and of suicidal attempts 1.8%.

The lowest risk for suicide ideas was found in Italy and Spain

Germany and France had the highest rate ratios of suicidal ideation and Belgium and France of suicidal attempts, while the lowest risk of ideas was found in Italy and Spain, societies that are generally more traditional and conservative.

The highest rate of onset of suicidal ideas and attempts is during teenage years and young adulthood

Suicidal ideas and attempts may appear for the first time at any age, with suicidal ideas having the highest rate of first presentation during teenage years and young adulthood. The number of years from the first suicidal idea to first suicide attempt also had a high variability, but for most individuals it happened within one or few years.

Women and young people are among the groups with higher risk for suicide ideation and attempts

Lifetime suicide ideation and suicide attempts are more prevalent among:

• Women
• Younger individuals
• People living in large urban areas. A relationship between social isolation and suicide has been demonstrated (Middleton et al., 2004), and living in a large city population may be related to higher frequency of social isolation.
• Respondents that had been previously married (separated, divorced, widowed)
• Individuals with lifetime major depression, dysthymia, Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and alcohol dependence.

It was also found that older individuals tended to show a lower prevalence of suicidality, though this was not statistically significant (Alonso et al., 2008, Bernal et al., 2007).

See Relative Risk for lifetime suicide attempts.