|
|
Study: Young white men face higher suicide risk
Legal issues and relationship problems were main reasons for
those taking their lives.The Indianapolis Star, Staff
Report, November 23, 2002
White men younger than 65 are most likely to commit suicide in
Indianapolis, often because of relationship or legal problems,
according to a new study that examined four years of data in
Marion County.
Health officials said Friday they hoped the findings would
help them develop ways to prevent suicide, which they termed
an epidemic in Indiana.
"We wanted to get a better idea of educational or intervention
services to focus on," said Lori Lovett, director of the
Indiana Suicide Prevention Coalition.
The coalition was formed last year after the U.S. surgeon
general released a national strategy for suicide prevention
and encouraged states to develop plans. Indiana's plan is
expected to be completed within a year, Lovett said, and would
focus on increasing funding and raising awareness of suicide
prevention.
"We want to make suicide prevention a priority and help direct
financial resources to the issue," she said.
The study, a joint effort of the Indiana Partnership To
Prevent Firearm Violence and the Indiana State Department of
Health, examined 468 suicides committed in Indianapolis from
1998 to 2001. Among the findings:
• Eighty-three percent of those who committed suicide were
male; 84 percent were white.
• Forty-seven percent had a history of depression or another
existing mental illness; 27 percent, most frequently young
adults, had abused drugs or alcohol.
• Sixty-four percent of men and more than 30 percent of women
used a gun; more than 30 percent overdosed on drugs.
• Relationship problems, such as a divorce or breakup, or
legal issues were the most common reasons people younger than
65 committed suicide; health problems were the most common
reasons for people older than 65.
Although the findings are similar to those in other states,
Indiana's suicide rate has been higher than the national
average for more than a decade, Lovett said.
From 1996 to 1998, Indiana's suicide rate was 12.25 per
100,000, second-highest in the Midwest behind Kentucky.
From 1991 to 2000, 7,015 people committed suicide in the
state, an average of nearly two people a day, officials said.
"If there is one, there's too many," said Megan Query-Roth of
the Suicide Prevention Coalition. "Any suicides are
unacceptable because it is a completely preventable issue."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Copyright 2002 The Indianapolis Star
|
