The increase in youth suicide rates, in particular the rate for males, and the consequent potential years of life lost has become a cause for concern. Possible causes of increases in suicide rates include drug and alcohol dependence, family breakdown, unemployment and financial distress. However, clear relationships are hard to establish, and in particular to generalise to the population level. Suicide To be classified as suicide a death must be recognised as due to other than natural causes. It must also be established by coronial inquiry that death results from a deliberate act of the deceased with the intention of ending his or her own life.
Suicide rates can vary considerably from year to year.
In statistical terms a considerable proportion of this variability may be due to chance. Figures therefore need to be interpreted with caution. To counteract the volatility in the data to some degree and to overcome problems with small numbers that can occur when dealing with detailed disaggregations, most figures presented in this review have been averaged over 5 years. Where data have been averaged, the mid-year of the average is presented in tables. Years of potential life lost Years of potential life lost measures the amount of life lost in a population as a result of premature mortality.