There is considerable regional variation in the numbers of people attempting suicide, and this difference is related to alcohol intake, research published today will show.
The incidence of attempted suicide in men is highest in Limerick city, at 425 males per 100,000. This figure far exceeds that for Galway city, the next highest location for male attempted suicides, where the rate is 260 per 100,000 males.
Dr Justin Brophy, consultant psychiatrist in Wicklow mental health services, will present the data at the the Irish Psychiatric Association's a.g.m. in Dublin today. Along with Dr Paul Corcoran and Prof Ivan Perry of the National Suicide Research Foundation, he analysed data for 2003 from the national parasuicide registry. They found the incidence of male attempted suicide in the Mid Western Health Board region was 13.2 per cent higher than the national male rate of 167 per 100,000. While Limerick also has the highest rate for female attempted suicide, the difference between it and the next highest location, Westmeath, is not significant.
When they incorporated alcohol use into their calculations, however, they found Limerick city residents were more likely to use alcohol than self-harmers in the rest of the country. "Among over-18s who attempted suicide, 53 per cent of Limerick residents compared with 44 per cent of those living in the rest of the country used alcohol in their acts," Dr Brophy will tell today's meeting.
Almost a third of under-18s living in Limerick have taken alcohol before attempting suicide, the researchers found.
"Limiting access to alcohol in under-age drinkers is crucial in reducing their proclivity to consider suicide," Dr Brophy told The Irish Times last night. "We need to eradicate alcohol marketing from sporting and cultural events that appeal to young people, as well as reducing access. The Government should not use public funds to assist events linked to alcohol."
The lowest rate of attempted suicide for men and women was in Co Leitrim. The analysis did not include Dublin due to incomplete data collection in the region.