Suicide among young people and adults in Ireland: method characteristics, toxicological analysis and substance abuse histories compared

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dc.contributor.authorArensman, Ella
dc.contributor.authorBennardi, Marco
dc.contributor.authorLarkin, Celine
dc.contributor.authorWall, Amanda
dc.contributor.authorMcAuliffe, Carmel
dc.contributor.authorMcCarthy, Jacklyn
dc.contributor.authorWilliamson, Eileen
dc.contributor.authorPerry, Ivan J.
dc.contributor.funderEuropean Commissionen
dc.contributor.funderSeventh Framework Programmeen
dc.date.accessioned2016-12-14T15:04:02Z
dc.date.available2016-12-14T15:04:02Z
dc.date.issued2016-11-29
dc.date.updated2016-12-14T14:41:26Z
dc.description.abstractObjective: Information on factors associated with suicide among young individuals in Ireland is limited. The aim of this study was to identify socio-demographic characteristics and circumstances of death associated with age among individuals who died by suicide. Methods: The study examined 121 consecutive suicides (2007–2012) occurring in the southern eastern part of Ireland (Cork city and county). Data were obtained from coroners, family informants, and health care professionals. A comparison was made between 15-24-year-old and 25-34-year-old individuals. Socio-demographic characteristics of the deceased, methods of suicide, history of alcohol and drug abuse, and findings from toxicological analysis of blood and urine samples taken at post mortem were included. Pearson’s χ2 tests and binary logistic regression analysis were performed. Results: Alcohol and/or drugs were detected through toxicological analysis for the majority of the total sample (79.5%), which did not differentiate between 15-24-year-old and 25-34-year-old individuals (74.1% and 86.2% respectively). Compared to 25-34-year-old individuals, 15-24-year-old individuals were more likely to engage in suicide by hanging (88.5%). Younger individuals were less likely to die by intentional drug overdose and carbon monoxide poisoning compared to older individuals. Younger individuals who died between Saturday and Monday were more likely to have had alcohol before dying. Substance abuse histories were similar in the two age groups. Conclusion: Based on this research it is recommended that strategies to reduce substance abuse be applied among 25-34-year-old individuals at risk of suicide. The wide use of hanging in young people should be taken into consideration for future means restriction strategies.en
dc.description.sponsorshipNational Office for Suicide Prevention, Ireland (The first phase of the Suicide Support and Information System (September 2008 - March 2011); European Commission (People Programme (Marie Curie Actions) of the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme FP7/2007 – 2013 under REA grant agreement n° 316795.)en
dc.description.statusPeer revieweden
dc.description.versionPublished Versionen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.citationArensman, E., Bennardi, M., Larkin, C., Wall, A., McAuliffe, C., McCarthy, J., Williamson, E. and Perry, I. J. (2016) 'Suicide among Young People and Adults in Ireland: Method Characteristics, Toxicological Analysis and Substance Abuse Histories Compared', PLOS ONE, 11(11), pp. e0166881. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0166881en
dc.identifier.doi10.1371/journal.pone.0166881
dc.identifier.endpagee0166881-14en
dc.identifier.issn1932-6203
dc.identifier.journaltitlePlos Oneen
dc.identifier.startpagee0166881-1en
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/3381
dc.identifier.volume11en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherPublic Library of Scienceen
dc.rights© 2016 Arensman et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.en
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/en
dc.subjectSuicideen
dc.subjectIrelanden
dc.subjectAlcohol consumptionen
dc.subjectAlcoholismen
dc.subjectToxicologyen
dc.subjectDrug abuseen
dc.subjectAlcoholsen
dc.subjectAge groupsen
dc.subjectAdultsen
dc.titleSuicide among young people and adults in Ireland: method characteristics, toxicological analysis and substance abuse histories compareden
dc.typeArticle (peer-reviewed)en
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