Suicide among Immigrants in Norway: A Registry-Based Analysis, 1995-2009

Anne Reneflot, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
Karoline Tufte Lien, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
Ingri Myklestad, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
Kim Stene-Larsen, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
Lars Johan Hauge, Norwegian Institute of Public Health

Norway has experienced growth in immigration in recent decades. This increases the need to comprehend risk factors and burden of disease among these immigrants, e.g. in terms of mental health problems. This study looks at suicide risk among the immigrant population. The analysis examines risk factors and patterns of suicide among immigrants in Norway, whether these differ between different groupings of countries of origin, and if immigrants’ family size in Norway has an effect on suicide risk. Data will be analyzed through survival analysis using Cox regression, with a linked dataset of several sources of registry data, giving us a representative picture of suicide among Norway’s immigrant population with ability to control for confounding factors. The analysis will also examine ways of grouping the immigrant population in a way that best showcases its heterogeneity and complexity, without compromising ethics or statistical power.