Social construction or causal ascription: Distinguishing suicide from undetermined deaths

Platt, Stephen; Backett, Simon; Kreitman, Norman

doi:10.1007/bf01787820

Cited by 41 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…33 Apparently non-random across decedent demographics and methods, 34,35 undercounting suicide likely distorts rates and differentials. Among factors plausibly exacerbating suicide case ascertainment in the twenty-first century are the secular decline in the combined clinical and forensic autopsy rate, 36,37 rare use of psychological autopsies in helping medicolegal authorities resolve the manner of death in cases of equivocal intent, 38 and extant disparities and underresourcing of the emergency healthcare 39,40 and death investigation systems.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Leading Causes of Unintentional and Intentional Injury Mortality: United States, 2000–2009

et al. 2012

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Objectives We have described national trends for the 5 leading external causes of injury mortality. Methods We used negative binomial regression and annual underlying cause-of-death data for US residents for 2000 through 2009. Results Mortality rates for unintentional poisoning, unintentional falls, and suicide increased by 128%, 71%, and 15%, respectively. The unintentional motor vehicle traffic crash mortality rate declined 25%. Suicide ranked first as a cause of injury mortality, followed by motor vehicle traffic crashes, poisoning, falls, and homicide. Females had a lower injury mortality rate than did males. The adjusted fall mortality rate displayed a positive age gradient. Blacks and Hispanics had lower adjusted motor vehicle traffic crash and suicide mortality rates and higher adjusted homicide rates than did Whites, and a lower unadjusted total injury mortality rate. Conclusions Mortality rates for suicide, poisoning, and falls rose substantially over the past decade. Suicide has surpassed motor vehicle traffic crashes as the leading cause of injury mortality. Comprehensive traffic safety measures have successfully reduced the national motor vehicle traffic crash mortality rate. Similar efforts will be required to diminish the burden of other injury.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Leading Causes of Unintentional and Intentional Injury Mortality: United States, 2000–2009

et al. 2012

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“…In the United States, this may be due partly to the requirement of strong corroborative evidence (40) and partly to social pressures, such as familial stigma or concerns about life insurance reimbursement (41). We therefore examined firearm-related suicides (ICD-9 code E955) separately for 2 reasons: Firearms are generally more lethal than other means (42, 43), and firearm-related deaths are less likely to be classified as being from undetermined causes than deaths related to more passive means (44–46), which is the category most susceptible to misclassification (47). Consistent with the latter, although only 3% of deaths due to injuries in the United States are described as deaths from undetermined causes, the percentage of firearm-related deaths described as being from undetermined causes is smaller by an order of magnitude (0.2%) (48).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Integration and Suicide Mortality Among Men: 24-Year Cohort Study of U.S. Health Professionals

Tsai¹,

Lucas²,

Sania³

et al. 2014

Ann Intern Med

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Background Suicide is a major public health problem. Current thinking about suicide emphasizes the study of psychiatric, psychological, or biological determinants. Previous work in this area has largely relied on surrogate outcomes or samples enriched for psychiatric morbidity. Objective To evaluate the relationship between social integration and suicide mortality. Design Prospective cohort study initiated in 1988. Setting United States. Participants 34 901 men aged 40 to 75 years. Measurements Social integration was measured with a 7-item index that included marital status, social network size, frequency of contact, religious participation, and participation in other social groups. Vital status of study participants was ascertained through 1 February 2012. The primary outcome of interest was suicide mortality, defined as deaths classified with codes E950 to E959 from the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision. Results Over 708 945 person-years of follow-up, there were 147 suicides. The incidence of suicide decreased with increasing social integration. In a multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression model, the relative hazard of suicide was lowest among participants in the highest (adjusted hazard ratio [AHR], 0.41 [95% CI, 0.24 to 0.69]) and second-highest (AHR, 0.52 [CI, 0.30 to 0.91]) categories of social integration. Three components (marital status, social network size, and religious service attendance) showed the strongest protective associations. Social integration was also inversely associated with all-cause and cardiovascular-related mortality, but accounting for competing causes of death did not substantively alter the findings. Limitations The study lacked information on participants’ mental well-being. Some suicides could have been misclassified as accidental deaths. Conclusion Men who were socially well-integrated had a more than 2-fold reduced risk for suicide over 24 years of follow-up. Primary Funding Source National Institutes of Health and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

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“…This is supported by the fact that the trends for recorded suicide and suicide and undetermined deaths have followed a similar pattern (Charlton et al, 1992). Platt et al (1988) have shown that the main difference between open verdicts and recorded suicides, in the community, is the method of killing, with passive methods (e.g. drowning) being less likely to receive a suicide verdict.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Suicide in prisons in England and Wales from 1988 to 1995

Towl

Crighton

1998

Criminal Behav Ment Health

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This study is based on an examination of 377 official records (from the English Prison Service's Suicide Awareness Support Unit) of self-inflicted deaths in prisons in England and Wales for the period from 5 February 1988 to 5 November 1995. The study builds on the work of earlier researchers in the area of suicides in prisons (Topp, 1979;Dooley, 1990) and provides a detailed analysis of all selfinflicted deaths occurring in prisons in England and Wales, something never previously undertaken. In this paper we present some of the main results from our research.

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Social construction or causal ascription: Distinguishing suicide from undetermined deaths

Cited by 41 publications

References 12 publications

Leading Causes of Unintentional and Intentional Injury Mortality: United States, 2000–2009

Leading Causes of Unintentional and Intentional Injury Mortality: United States, 2000–2009

Social Integration and Suicide Mortality Among Men: 24-Year Cohort Study of U.S. Health Professionals

Suicide in prisons in England and Wales from 1988 to 1995

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