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Recent trends in elderly suicide rates in England and Wales
Author(s) -
Hoxey Kate,
Shah Ajit
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
international journal of geriatric psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.28
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1099-1166
pISSN - 0885-6230
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1099-1166(200003)15:3<274::aid-gps106>3.0.co;2-i
Subject(s) - demography , falling (accident) , life expectancy , suicide prevention , suicide rates , poison control , medicine , injury prevention , population , suicide methods , mortality rate , gerontology , medical emergency , psychiatry , environmental health , sociology
The proportion of elderly in the population is increasing due to increased life expectancy and falling birth rate, and suicide rates increase with age. This study examined the following in England and Wales: (i) recent trends in the elderly suicide rate; (ii) recent trends in method‐specific elderly suicide rate; (iii) the relationship between elderly population size and elderly suicide rate in recent years; and (iv) the sex difference in overall and method‐specific elderly suicide rate. Data on the various suicide variables were ascertained from the annually published mortality data for years 1985 to 1996. The main findings of this study were: (i) there is a trend towards decline in the overall pure and combined suicide rates for elderly men and women over the 12 year study period; (ii) the main contributors to this decline are suicides due to poisoning by solid and liquid substances (E950), hanging, strangulation and suffocation (E953), drowning (E954), firearms and explosives (E955), and jumping from high places (E957); (iii) the overall pure and combined suicide rates and that for most categories of suicide was higher in men compared to women; and (iv) suicide rates decreased with an increase in the elderly population size. Suicide rates can decline due to a number of reasons. The challenge now is to ensure further decline in suicide rates to meet the Our Healthier Nations target. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.