Irvine Express and North Ayrshire Post. — 1886-03-05 (Irvine, Strathclyde, Scotland)

SFICIDE STATISTICS. —At a recent meeting of the Statistical Society, a paper was read on "Suicide, In England and Wales, in Relation to Age, Sex, Season, and Occupation." by Mr William Ogle, M.A., M.D., F.R.C.P. It appears that the deaths registt red in the 26 years 1858-83 in England and Wales as due to suicide were 42,630, and in the proportion of 72 annually per million persons living. The suicide-rate increases rapidly with age until after middle life, but in the more advanced age periods again diminishes. The maximum rate is in the 55-65 years period, when it reaches 251 per million persons living. At all age periods, with one exception, the male rate is far higher than the female, and the difference between them mere isee with age. The one exceptional period is the 15-20 years period, when the female rate is slightly the higher. At this same period the female death-rate and lunacy-rate are also exceptionally above the male rates. Taking all ages together, out of equal numbers living and in the same age distribution, the male suicides are to the female suicides as 267 to 100. The occupations in which the suicide-rate are lowest are those which imply rough manual labour carried on mostly out of doors, and by men who are comparatively uneducated, such as miners, quarrymen, shipwrights, fishermen, gardeners, labourers of all kinds, bricklayers, and masons. The occupations with the highest suicide-rates are those which are sedentary and carried on by highly-educated men, as the learned professions, and also such as notoriously lead to intemperance, as those of inn. keepers. Between the two extremes come farmers, shopkeepers, and town artisans. Tables are given of the rates in a number of selected occupations, and some of these—e.g., those of soldiers and farmers —are subjected to special examination. As regards farmers, it is shown that their suicides were nearly doubled in the two years 1879-80, when agricultural distress was most acute, and that simultaneously with this rise in their suicide-rate there was a corresponding rise in their registered bankruptcies. It is shown that the amount of suicides of men in different occupations varies to a considerable extent with the lunacy-rates and with the general deathrates, the name causes that conduce to insanity and to general unhealthiness also conducting to self-destruction. It is also shown that the amount of suicides varies very definitely with the seasons, forming a regular annual curveof which the minimum is in December and the maximum in June. The commonest method of suicide is hanging ; then follow, in order, drowning, cut or stab, poison, gunshot. Women, however, select drowning -before banging, and poison before cut or stab. Women also differ from men in selection of poisons, men choosing painless and sure preparations, while women take any poison that is at band indifferently. The choice of method is also affected by age, the young showing a comparative preference for drowning, poison, .and gunshot ;and by occupation, nen using preferentially the instruments of their crafts ; and by season, drowning being avoided in the cold months.