A brief research report of suicide rates in the Brazilian elderly over a 12-year period: the lack of association of the "

Objectives: Aiming to disseminate information related to suicide prevention in Brazil, the " Methods: Data were gathered from the Mortality Information System and the Notifiable Diseases Information System, established by public institutions in Brazil. An interrupted time-series framework was applied to assess the association between the " Results: The suicide-mortality rate over time has remained stable; the average rate in the pre-campaign period was 0.028 and increased slightly to 0.035. Regardless of the campaign's operationalization and the outcome used, results show no significant associations between the campaign and elderly suicide rates. The campaign was associated with non-significant decreased effects of 15% (P=0.532) in the short term, and 16% (P=0.446) assuming the campaign was sustained. Conclusions: There is a lack of association between the campaign and suicide rates, among the elderly in Brazil's southeastern region. As suicide is complex and multifactorial, more research is needed. The campaign, while raising awareness and reducing stigma, may not reduce suicides. To reduce the suicide rate in the elderly requires addressing social, economic and cultural factors, multisectoral interventions, and upholding basic human rights.