The
association
between
pesticide
use
and
an
increased
suicide
risk
is
a
controversial
issue.
Previous
studies
have
shown
higher
rates
of
suicide
among
agricultural
workers
and
people
living
in
small
municipalities,
but
have
not
identified
the
causes
of
these
results.
Objective:
To
investigate
the
association
between
pesticide
exposure
and
suicide
rates.
Methods:
Crude
suicide
rates
of
a
15-year
time
series
(1996–2010)
were
examined,
followed
by
an
ecological
study
using
age-standardized
suicide
rates
for
the
period
2006–2010.
The
unit
of
analysis
was
all
558
Brazilian
micro-regions.
Pesticide
exposure
was
evaluated
according
to
the
proportion
of
farms
that
used
pesticides
and
had
reported
cases
of
pesticide
poisonings.
The
statistics
were
analysed
using
Pearson’s
correlation
and
multiple
linear
regression
adjusted
for
socioeconomic,
demographic
and
cultural
factors.