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Comparison of elderly suicide rates among migrants in England and Wales with their country of origin
- Authors:
- SHAH Ajit, LINDESAY James, DENNIS Mick
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 24(3), March 2009, pp.292-299.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
The black and minority ethnic (BME) elderly population size in England and Wales has progressively increased over the last three decades. A study comparing suicide rates among elderly migrants in England and Wales and in their country of origin using the latest available mortality data from the Office of National Statistics and the World Health Organization was conducted. There were wide variations in standardised mortality ratios for elderly suicides among migrants from different countries compared with those born in England and Wales and in their country of origin. There was convergence towards elderly suicide rates for England and Wales in some migrant groups in males in the age-bands 65-74 years and 75 + years, and in females in the age-band 75 + years. However, males aged 75 + years from most migrant groups had higher rates than those born in England and Wales. A more detailed analysis of suicide of older people from migrant groups is required to determine vulnerability and protective influences.
Methods of elderly suicides in England and Wales by country of birth groupings
- Authors:
- DENNIS Michael, SHAH Ajit, LINDESAY James
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 24(11), November 2009, pp.1311-1313.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This brief article presents statistics on methods of suicide used by older males and females, using data on suicides and open verdicts for England and Wales obtained from the Office for National Statistics for the period 2001 to 2005. As data concerning ethnicity are not recorded on death certificates, country of birth was used as a proxy. Although this approach only provides mortality data of first generation migrants rather than for entire black and minority ethnic (BME) groups, there is a close match between ethnicity and country of birth for older people. Individual countries of birth were grouped into broader regional country of birth categories, and the number of suicides for each method was calculated by gender for each country of birth grouping. A combined BME group was then calculated for each gender by combining those born outside England and Wales. The results show that hanging, drug overdose and drowning were the commonest methods of suicide in older people in England and Wales in most country of birth groups; in the female Indian subcontinent group the commonest methods were drug overdose, drowning, and burning; methods of suicide in older people were generally similar in the BME population compared to people born in England and Wales.