MRC Medical Sociology Unit, 6 Lilybank Gardens, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK.
J Psychopharmacol. 1992 Jan;6(2 Suppl):291-9. doi: 10.1177/0269881192006002021.
The epidemiology of suicide (1970-1990) and parasuicide (1970-1989) in Great Britain is reviewed. A wide variation in suicide rates exists across Europe, and the rates in England and Wales fall considerably below the median. Although suicide accounted for only 0.7% of all deaths in 1990 in people aged over 15, it was the second most common cause of death among males aged 15-34 years. In 1990, the suicide rate for males was 19% above that in 1970, while in females the rate in 1990 was much lower than it had been during the 1970s. Male suicide rates exceed female rates in all 10-year age groups. The lowest rates of suicide in both sexes and in all age groups occur among married people, and the rates among semi-skilled (class IV) and unskilled (class V) manual workers are higher than those in the other four social classes. The leading methods of suicide are poisoning, hanging and domestic gas, though deaths by domestic gas poisoning had disappeared completely by 1990 with the detoxification of gas. Men use violent methods to a greater extent than women. Only two British centres, in Oxford and Edinburgh, have monitored episodes of hospital-treated parasuicide during the period of review. Both British cities have parasuicide rates greatly in excess of the European median. Between 1970 and 1989, annual parasuicide rates were higher for females than for males. Self- poisoning has been the predominant method used in parasuicide. Parasuicide is a behaviour mainly encountered during adolescence and young adulthood, and parasuicide rates decline with advancing age. The lowest rates of parasuicide are found among the married, and the highest among the divorced. A direct relationship exists between parasuicide and social class; the lower the social class, the higher the rate of parasuicide. The rates of parasuicide are considerably higher among the unemployed, with females at greater risk than males.
英国自杀（1970-1990 年）和自杀未遂（1970-1989 年）的流行病学研究。欧洲的自杀率存在广泛差异，英格兰和威尔士的自杀率明显低于中位数。尽管 1990 年，年龄在 15 岁以上的人群中，自杀仅占所有死亡人数的 0.7%，但它是 15-34 岁男性中第二大常见死因。1990 年，男性自杀率比 1970 年高出 19%，而女性自杀率在 20 世纪 90 年代则远低于 70 年代。在所有 10 岁年龄组中，男性自杀率均高于女性。无论男女，所有年龄段中，已婚人士的自杀率最低，半熟练（IV 类）和非熟练（V 类）体力劳动者的自杀率高于其他四个社会阶层。自杀的主要方法是中毒、上吊和家用煤气，但到 1990 年，随着煤气的净化，家用煤气中毒导致的死亡已完全消失。男性比女性更倾向于使用暴力手段。在审查期间，只有英国的牛津和爱丁堡两个中心监测了医院治疗的自杀未遂事件。这两个英国城市的自杀未遂率大大超过了欧洲的中位数。1970 年至 1989 年期间，女性自杀未遂率高于男性。自我中毒是自杀未遂的主要方法。自杀未遂主要发生在青少年和年轻成年人中，自杀未遂率随着年龄的增长而下降。已婚人士的自杀未遂率最低，离婚人士的自杀未遂率最高。自杀未遂与社会阶层之间存在直接关系；社会阶层越低，自杀未遂率越高。失业人群的自杀未遂率相当高，女性的风险高于男性。
