Suicide rate up more than 22 pct in 2009-2011
Suicides shot up by more than 22 percent from 2009 to 2011, the organizers of a medical conference due to take place in Athens next week said on Thursday, stressing that the economic crisis has clearly exacerbated the leading causes of depression and suicide.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of the May 16-19 event, the chief of the Attikon Hospital?s Psychiatric Department, Eleftherios Lykouras, said that increased insecurity and uncertainty for the future are intrinsically linked to the spike in suicides, which according to police figures stood at 1,727 over the two year period, with 598 people taking their own lives in 2011.