Suicide still a big cause of NZ deaths

Suicide remains the major cause of death by injury in New Zealand, according to the latest national suicide statistics.

The provisional all-ages statistics are from 2003, but are the latest available.

The highest rate for the same period was recorded in the West Coast at a little over 250 hospital admissions per 100,000 population and the lowest in the Capital and Coast district at just under 62 per 100,000 population.

Close to 12 deaths per 100,000 population were reported across the country in 2003, compared with almost 11 deaths per 100,000 population in 2002.

A total of 515 New Zealanders died by their own hand in 2003, compared with 465 in 2002 - which showed a 25 per cent increase in female suicides over the year with 141 females taking their own lives in 2003, which was up from 113 in 2002. The rates for men continued to be high - 374 in 2003, compared with 352 in 2002.

Male New Zealanders are recorded as still having a higher suicide rate than females - very nearly 17 compared with just over six per 100,000 population respectively. The all-ages ratio by sex was almost three males to every one female suicide per 100,000 population.

A decline was recorded for males from 1995 and a general increase in the female rate after 2000 with the average age-standardised suicide rate in New Zealand peaking since that year at 14 deaths per 100,000 population recorded in the moving three-year periods 1995 - 1997 and 1996 - 1998.

Also recorded was the fact that females aged 15 to 24 had the highest age-specific suicide rate for 2003 at 11 per 100,000 population - while males aged 25 to 44 had the highest age-specific suicide rate at just over 28 per 100,000 per population.

The age-standardised suicide rate of suicide was higher for Maori than non-Maori at just over 21 male deaths recorded and a little more than six females per 100,000 population compared with non-Maori figures for 2003 of close to 16 male deaths and almost six female per 100,000 population.

There were 87 Maori deaths by suicide recorded in 2003, compared with 80 in 2002.

The least deprived areas of New Zealand had a suicide rate of very nearly nine deaths per 100,000 population, compared with just over 13 per 100,000 population in the most deprived areas of the country.

The hospital admission rate for suicide and intentional self-harm for New Zealand in 2002-2003 was close to 132 per 100,000 population, which was up from just over 128 per 100,000 population in 2001-2002. The sex ratio for hospital admissions was just over two females for every one male per 100,000 population.

The all-ages suicide rate for New Zealand made the country the sixth highest among selected OECD nations for males, and the fourth highest for females.