Abstract Background Suicide rates increase with age across Europe, yet little is known about how individual-level socioeconomic deprivation affects suicide mortality in later life. This study examined associations between material and social deprivation and suicide mortality using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). Methods Data from SHARE Waves 5-9 were analysed, including 55,723 respondents aged 50 years and older from 14 European countries and Israel. Material and social deprivation indices (MDI, SDI) were constructed from validated item sets. Suicide deaths were identified through end-of-life interviews. Cox proportional hazards models with shared gamma frailty at the country level were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs). Sensitivity analyses applied alternative tie-handling and clustered bootstrap methods. Violations of the proportional hazards assumption for MDI were addressed using time-varying models. Results Over the follow-up, 211 suicides occurred. Medium and high MDI were associated with increased suicide mortality (HR = 3.61 95% CI: 1.77-7.37 and HR = 3.10 95% CI: 1.45-6.64). For SDI, medium‑high and high deprivation indicated elevated risk (HR = 2.16 95% CI: 1.15-4.08 and HR = 2.66 95% CI: 1.46-4.83). Both indices remained independent predictors, and the association for MDI diminished over time. Findings were robust across sensitivity analyses. Conclusion Material and social deprivation independently increase suicide mortality risk among older adults. Prevention strategies should prioritise disadvantaged older populations and address broader socioeconomic inequalities.
Matthias Hans Belau (Sat,) studied this question.