Gestor bibliográfico Crisis y Salud

Greece has entered a long period of economic crisis with adverse effects on various aspects of daily life, including the mental health of its citizens. Within this context, the Greek Ministry of Health reported that the annual suicide rate has increased by 40%;1 nonetheless, a systematic investigation to address the effect of the Greek economic crisis on suicidality is still lacking. In an endeavour to fill this gap, the University Mental Health Research Institute (UMHRI) implemented a nationwide cross-sectional telephone survey, completed on May 1, 2011. The study adopted the same methods as an earlier one2 done during February-April, 2009, which explored the links between major depressive symptoms and socioeconomic variables. A representative sample of 2256 respondents was drawn from the national telephone-number databank, with telephone numbers belonging to businesses or services being excluded. Informed consent was obtained from all participants and the study was approved by the UMHRI Ethics Committee. Recent suicidality was assessed with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID-I) and financial strain was measured by the Index of Personal Economic Distress (IPED), an eight-item scale with good psychometric properties.2