Methods of suicide: international suicide patters derived from the WHO mortality database

TLDR

Accurate information about preferred suicide methods is crucial for prevention strategies, yet knowledge of how these methods vary across countries remains limited. The study aims to provide the first comprehensive overview of international suicide method patterns using WHO mortality data coded by ICD‑10. The authors employed ICD‑10 classification of suicide methods and correspondence analysis of WHO mortality data to identify typical patterns across countries. The analysis revealed that pesticide poisoning dominates in many Asian and Latin American countries, drug poisoning in Nordic and UK, hanging in Eastern Europe, firearms in the US, and high‑place jumping in urban societies such as Hong Kong; overall, pesticide and firearm methods have displaced traditional methods, and the patterns depend on method availability, underscoring the urgency and feasibility of restricting access to lethal means.

Abstract

Accurate information about preferred suicide methods is important for devising strategies and programmes for suicide prevention. Our knowledge of the methods used and their variation across countries and world regions is still limited. The aim of this study was to provide the first comprehensive overview of international patterns of suicide methods.Data encoded according to the International Classification of Diseases (10th revision) were derived from the WHO mortality database. The classification was used to differentiate suicide methods. Correspondence analysis was used to identify typical patterns of suicide methods in different countries by providing a summary of cross-tabulated data.Poisoning by pesticide was common in many Asian countries and in Latin America; poisoning by drugs was common in both Nordic countries and the United Kingdom. Hanging was the preferred method of suicide in eastern Europe, as was firearm suicide in the United States and jumping from a high place in cities and urban societies such as Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China. Correspondence analysis demonstrated a polarization between pesticide suicide and firearm suicide at the expense of traditional methods, such as hanging and jumping from a high place, which lay in between.This analysis showed that pesticide suicide and firearm suicide replaced traditional methods in many countries. The observed suicide pattern depended upon the availability of the methods used, in particular the availability of technical means. The present evidence indicates that restricting access to the means of suicide is more urgent and more technically feasible than ever.