Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
Oasis Collector's Edition is HERE! - Get yours before they go.
GET MINE
News

Global suicide rates are down

Men are still most at risk

The level of people dying by suicide has fallen by more than a third since 1990, a BMJ study has revealed.

The research, conducted in 2016, record 817,000 suicides that year – a 6.7 per cent increase on 1990. However, when adjusted according to population growth, experts found a decrease of 32.7 per cent (with suicide causing 11.2 deaths per 100,000 people).

Heather Orpana, a research scientist with the Public Health Agency of Canada who worked on the study, said: “Suicide is considered a preventable cause of death and this study shows that we should continue in our efforts towards suicide prevention.

“With further efforts we could take further reductions in suicide mortality.”

Some 800,000 people are estimated to kill themselves every year, according to the World Health Organisation, which lists suicide as a critical public health issue. It has set a target of a 10 per cent decrease in suicides by 2020.

But while the rate at which people die by suicide appears to slow, men are still far more at risk of suicide than women.

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

Women accounted for seven deaths per 100,000; men were counted at more than double, at 15.6 deaths per 100,000. This applied to all regions and age groups, apart from among 15-19 year olds.

“Sometimes we might look at suicide as a different kind of health outcome than, say, cardiovascular disease or cancer, which are considered more traditional,” Orpana told AFP. “But what the similar rate (fall) may be telling us is that suicide may be similar to other health outcomes, and in some ways may be driven by similar factors.”

However despite the overall downward trend, Orpana said no countries are expected to meet the goal of a one-third reduction in suicide mortality by 2030.

Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org.

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

SIGN THE PETITION

Will you sign Big Issue's petition to ask Keir Starmer to pass a Poverty Zero law? It's time to hold government to account on poverty once and for all.

Recommended for you

View all
Disability benefit cuts violate human rights even with concessions, MPs warned ahead of vote
Keir Starmer
Disability benefits

Disability benefit cuts violate human rights even with concessions, MPs warned ahead of vote

It never crossed my mind I might need disability benefits. Now I don't know where I'd be without PIP
Haitham Elmasri
Disability benefits

It never crossed my mind I might need disability benefits. Now I don't know where I'd be without PIP

Rough sleeping in London hits record high amid warnings of benefit cuts making things worse
a homeless man sitting on the street with his dog
Rough sleeping

Rough sleeping in London hits record high amid warnings of benefit cuts making things worse

Tory MP Robert Jenrick says mass migration to blame for rising rents. Here's what he's not telling you
Conservative MP Robert Jenrick
RENTING

Tory MP Robert Jenrick says mass migration to blame for rising rents. Here's what he's not telling you

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know
4.

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know

Support our vendors with a subscription

For each subscription to the magazine, we’ll provide a vendor with a reusable water bottle, making it easier for them to access cold water on hot days.