Abstract
BackgroundRates of suicide and undetermined death increased rapidly in Scotland in the 1980's and 1990's. The largest increases were in men, with a marked increase in rates in younger age groups. This was associated with an increase in hanging as a method of suicide. National suicide prevention work has identified young men as a priority group. Routinely collected national information suggested a decrease in suicide rates in younger men at the beginning of the 21st century. This study tested whether this was a significant change in trend, and whether it was associated with any change in hanging rates in young men.MethodsJoinpoint regression was used to estimate annual percentage changes in age-specific rates of suicide and undetermined intent death, and to identify times when the trends changed significantly. Rates of deaths by method in 15 – 29 year old males and females were also examined to assess whether there had been any significant changes in method use in this age group.ResultsThere was a 42% reduction in rates in 15 – 29 year old men, from 42.5/100,000 in 2000 to 24.5/100,000 in 2004. A joinpoint analysis confirmed that this was a significant change. There was also a significant change in trend in hanging in men in this age group, with a reduction in rates after 2000. No other male age group showed a significant change in trend over the period 1980 – 2004. There was a smaller reduction in suicide rates in women in the 15 – 29 year old age group, with a reduction in hanging from 2002.ConclusionThere has been a reduction in suicide rates in men aged 15 – 29 years, and this is associated with a significant reduction in deaths by hanging in this age group. It is not clear whether this is related to a change in method preference, or an overall reduction in suicidal behaviour, and review of self-harm data will be required to investigate this further.
Highlights
Rates of suicide and undetermined death increased rapidly in Scotland in the 1980's and 1990's
There were no significant changes in trend in any other male age group in the period reviewed
The oldest female age group showed a steady reduction over the time period, while the two intermediate groups had a small positive estimated annual percentage change in rate (EAPC) from the late 1980's/early 1990's
Summary
Rates of suicide and undetermined death increased rapidly in Scotland in the 1980's and 1990's. The combined all age suicide and undetermined death rate among men increased by 35% between the period 1981–1985 and 1996–1999. During this time, there was (page number not for citation purposes). Between the periods 1981–1985 and 1996–1999 the combined suicide and undetermined death rate among men aged 15–24 years and 25–34 years increased by 97% and 86% respectively. While suicide rates increased in both deprived and nondeprived groups, the greatest increase occurred among men living in the most deprived areas of the country. This resulted in a widening of social disparities in male suicide in Scotland. This resulted in a widening of social disparities in male suicide in Scotland. [6]
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