• There were 20,927 suicides in England and Wales between 1996-2000
• 140,000 people attempt suicide each year in England and Wales alone
• Estimates suggest the true suicide rate is 50-60 per cent higher than the official rate
• 75 per cent of suicides in the UK are by males
• Suicides in young men aged 15-24 are now 67 per cent higher than in 1982
• Suicide figures are double the death toll from road traffic accidents
• The overall UK suicide rate has been slowly declining since the early 1980s
• Between 1971 and 1996 the suicide rate for women in the UK almost halved
• Between 1971 and 1996 the suicide rate for men in the UK almost doubled
• Men aged 25-34 have the highest suicide rates
• Suicide rates are higher among people with mental health problems
• Research suggests up to 70 per cent of suicides are by people with depression
• Drug and alcohol misuse both increase the risk factor for suicide
• The suicide rate in male prison inmates is six times the male average
• Overdosing accounts for 50 per cent of female suicides and 25 per cent of male suicides
• 10-15 per cent of people who make a suicide attempt will later die by suicide
• Young women 15-19 are at the highest risk of attempted suicide
• 1 per cent of all suicides in the UK occur within NHS psychiatric hospitals
• The suicide rate among homeless is 35 times that of the general population
• The suicide rate of young Asian women is 3 times that of white British young women

Introduction

Suicide is a major public health issue in the United Kingdom. There were 20,927 suicides and probable suicides in the UK in the four years from 1996 to 2000, 75 per cent of these suicides were by males. These figures are more than double the death toll from road traffic accidents and twelve times the number of deaths from homicide. Of the total figure, 24 per cent were known to be in contact with mental health services in the year prior to death. [1]

The suicide rate in the UK reached a post-war peak in the early 1960s. Rates then declined steadily between 1963 and 1975. The rate for men then increased between 1975 and 1990 while the rate for females continued to drop.

Although the overall suicide rate has been dropping for over a decade, until recently there was a great deal of alarm over dramatic increases in the suicides of young men in the 15-24 age group. This trend now appears to have reversed with the young male suicide rate dropping for the third year in succession, however, it is still 67 per cent higher than it was in 1982, and 25 per cent higher than the overall suicide rate for all men.

Men aged 25-34 have the highest suicide rates, closely followed by men aged 35-44. This in contrast to the figures up till 1990 when older men had the highest suicide rates

Official suicide statistics in the UK are based on coroners? verdicts. In the case of a suspected suicide an inquest will be held, but the victim?s intention to commit suicide must be definitely proven. In the absence of any clear proof of intent, the verdict is unlikely to be suicide. Such deaths are likely to be classified as ?death by misadventure?, ?accidental death?, or there will be an ?open? verdict. These deaths assigned to injury of undetermined intention are included within official suicide statistics in an attempt o provide a more accurate estimate of the true levels of suicide in the UK.

In her book The Long Sleep Kate Hill makes the following point:

?For all practical purposes officially recorded suicide figures are now defunct. The UK Department of Health?s own calculations confirm this. In 1992 the Secretary of State for Health made a commitment to reduce the suicide rate in England and Wales by 15 per cent by the end of the century. The suicide rate in question turned out to be the combined death rate from suicide and undetermined causes.? [2] The number of suicide notifications in fact continued to rise until 1998, however, it has fallen in most three-month periods since the beginning of 1998. [3]

A footnote in The Health of the Nation, key area handbook on mental illness explains that: ?Coroners vary in their criteria for recording a suicide verdict. Including the category of undetermined deaths reduces the variation considerably. Most undetermined deaths are suicides.? [4]

The group of people with the highest incidence of suicide in the UK is the homeless. Suicide amongst homeless people is 35 times more likely than in the general population. [5]

Age and Gender Profile: General Population Suicides

Numbers of suicides Suicides in UK 1996-2000

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