Relation between attempted suicide and suicide rates among young people in Europe

Abstract

Main results-There were positive correlations (Spearman rank order) between rates of attempted suicide and suicide rates in both sexes. The correlations only reached statistical significance for male subjects: regional suicide rates, r = 0.65, p < 0.02; national suicide rates, r = 0.55, p < 0.02. Conclusions-Rates of attempted suicide and suicide in the young covary. The recent increase in attempted suicide rates in young male subjects in several European countries could herald a further increase in suicide rates. (J Epidemiol Community Health 1998;52:191-194) Suicidal behaviour is increasingly becoming a phenomenon associated with young people. Findings from the current WHO/EURO Multicentre Study of Parasuicide indicate that while there are pronounced diVerences between attempted suicide rates in diVerent centres, in most of the 16 participating centres in 13 European countries the highest rates are in 15-24 year old female young adults.1-3 Rates are also relatively high in young male subjects, although peak rates are more usually in the 25-34 year age group. There is evidence from some countries that attempted suicide rates in young people have increased since the mid 1980s.4 5 There has also been a considerable narrowing of the female to male ratio of rates in the young, the usual marked female excess becoming steadily less pronounced, largely because of a disproportionate increase in male rates. 5In contrast with attempted suicide, suicide rates are generally higher in male subjects than female subjects, and the highest rates of suicide are usually found in older age groups. 6 There have, however, been important changes in this pattern in recent years, many countries having experienced a noticeable rise in suicide rates in young male subjects. Suicide has become a leading cause of death in the young, and in some countries (for example, Sweden) it is now the most common cause of death in 15-24 year olds. In other countries (for example, England and Wales) it is second only to road traYc accidents.While there are considerable diVerences between attempted suicide and suicide in terms of the characteristics of the people involved and their motives, the two phenomena are also strongly linked. Thus, people who attempt suicide are at high risk of eventual suicide and nearly half of those who kill themselves have a history of previous attempts. 7What is not known is the extent to which rates of suicide and attempted suicide are correlated, especially at the international level. In this paper we examine the statistical relation between attempted suicide and suicide rates in 15-24 year olds across European countries. The data on attempted suicide were derived from the epidemiological part of the WHO/ EURO Multicentre Study of Parasuicide. (table 1). In most of the centres the monitoring study is ongoing. The results reported here concern the first four years of the study, 1989-1992. In each of the participating centres data are collected on suicide attempts by residents of the centre's catchment area age...

Perfil das tentativas de suicídio por sobredose intencional de medicamentos atendidas por um Centro de Controle de Intoxicações do Paraná, Brasil

“…O predomínio do gênero feminino e o perfil etário mais jovem das mulheres estão de acordo com a maior parte dos estudos descritivos sobre tentativas de suicídio e suicídio que apontam as taxas de tentativa de suicídio maior entre as mulheres e de suicídio maior entre os homens 8,24,25 . Além disso, como discutido em alguns trabalhos sobre o tema, homens que tentam suicídio por autointoxicação tendem a usar pesticidas ao invés de medicamentos 19 .…”

Caracterização de tentativas de suicídios por substâncias exógenas

“…Também, os métodos utilizados na tentativa de suicídio diferem entre os sexos. Os homens tendem a usar meios mais violentos do que as mulheres devido a uma maior intenção suicida, à agressividade, ao conhecimento sobre meios violentos e a uma menor preocupação com a desfiguração do corpo 25 , enquanto as mulheres tendem a tomar doses excessivas de substâncias ou de venenos 23 , no entanto isso não pode ser considerado uma regra. Essa distinção de gêneros pode ser mais evidente em comunidades em que diferentes comportamentos suicidas são esperados entre mulheres e homens, e, assim, expectativas divergentes podem afetar os cenários escolhidos, uma vez que o suicídio torna-se uma possibilidade.…”

Emergency Room Visits for Suicide Attempts: Rates, Trends and Sociodemographic Characteristics of Suicide Attempts in Northeastern Anatolia

“…Among females in Europe, the highest attempted suicide rate was found in the age group 15-24 years with values between 99 and 766 per 100,000 population. In male subjects of the same age group, these rates were lower, ranging between 66 and 372 per 100,000 3 . In Iran, published attempted suicide rates per 100,000 population varied between 19.4 in 2005 and 16.3 in 2007 4 .…”