A Comparison of Suicide Rates Among Male Farmers and Construction Workers in Minnesota: An Analysis Using Minnesota Violent Death Reporting System (2015–2021)

Abstract

This study examined suicide rates among farmers and construction workers. Specifically, suicides in the Animal Production and Agriculture (0170) and Crop Production (0180) industries were used to identify farmers, while construction workers were classified based on the Census code 0770 (Construction). The analysis indicated that the overall suicide rate among farmers was 29.9 per 100,000 (95% CI: 24.93–35.64), whereas construction workers had a significantly higher rate at 50.9 per 100,000 (95% CI: 47.04 55.18) The age-adjusted rate ratio was 2.27 (95% CI: 1.87–2.75), indicating that suicide rates among construction workers were about two times higher than those of farmers. This contradicts the initial hypothesis that farmers would have a higher suicide rate than construction workers. The rate ratios varied significantly across different age groups. The highest suicide rate ratio was observed among the 70+ years age group, where construction workers had a suicide rate of 409.9 per 100,000 (95% CI: 316.3-522.4), and farmers’ suicide rate was 77.5 per 100,000 (95% CI: 53.71–108.4). The rate ratio of 5.28 (95% CI: 3.49–8.00) highlights a dramatically greater risk of suicide among older construction workers compared to farmers of similar age. In contrast, the age group of 50–59 had a rate ratio of 1.28 (95% CI: 0.83- 1.96). Firearm-related suicides were also analyzed. The overall firearm-related suicide rate among construction workers was 26.0 per 100,000 (95% CI: 15.49–24.18), higher than that of farmers at 19.4 per 100,000 (95% CI: 15.49–24.18), with a rate ratio of 1.34 (95% CI: 1.05–1.71). After adjusting for age, the rate ratio was 1.93 (95% CI: 1.53–2.45), confirming that construction workers were at a higher risk of firearm-related suicide. The most pronounced difference in firearm-related suicide rates was in the 70+ years age group, in which construction workers had a firearm-related suicide rate of 283.8 per 100,000 (95% CI: 207–379.70), compared to 59.3 per 100,000 (95% CI: 38.78–86.92) for farmers.