Method-Specific Suicide Mortality Trends in Australian Men from 1978 to 2017

Abstract

In 2017 Australia saw the highest overall suicide rate in the past 10 years, with male suicide rates three times higher than in women. Since the mid-1980s there have been major changes in suicide epidemiology in Australia with large shifts in method of suicide among both men and women. This study examined method-specific suicide trends in Australian men over the past 40 years by state. Suicide mortality data for the period 1978 to 2017 was obtained from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) National Mortality Database and log-linear Poisson regression analysis was used to analyse suicide mortality. This study found large differences between states in patterns and trends in suicide mortality from 1978 to 2017. Hanging, gas and firearms were the most common methods of suicide in Australia. We found statistically significant increasing trends in hanging suicide among men in all six states. The study findings highlight the growing concern of hanging-related suicide in all states in Australia since the late 1970s. New suicide prevention strategies focusing on the ubiquity and ease of hanging as a method will be needed in order for Australia to reduce suicide mortality in future.

COVID-19 and Mortality, Depression, and Suicide in the Polish Population

“…No impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the rise in the number of suicides was observed in Korea, where the number of suicides even decreased by 6.9% in the first eight months of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019 ( 40 ). When analyzing demographic factors in Poland, more men who committed suicide ended with death, which is similar to the situation in other countries such as India (80.8%) ( 41 ) and Australia ( 42 ), as well as in the European Union countries (77%) ( 43 ). Research suggests that> 90% of suicide victims have mental disorders ( 44 ).…”

A retrospective matched case–control comparison of non-fatal hanging to non-fatal self-poisoning in a sample of Australian men and women

“…Of the few studies examining suicide by hanging in Australia, most report on completed suicide. These studies largely confirm the recent increase in hanging, 7 note a high incidence of alcohol ingestion before hanging, 8 and an overrepresentation of death by hanging in Australian indigenous populations. 9 Globally, few studies have used samples of individuals who have survived hanging.…”

Changes in cause-specific mortality trends across occupations in working-age Japanese women from 1980 to 2015: a cross-sectional analysis

“…Previous studies reported that nurses, doctors, dentists, pharmacists and police officers are at higher risk of suicide [ 32 , 33 ]. The impact of socioeconomic factors on suicide in greater in Japan compared to other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries [ 34 , 35 ]. Suicide has been identified as a potential contributor to the rise in inequalities in mortality because studies suggest associations between increasing suicide rates and the global financial crisis [ 7 ].…”