National suicide rate at record low
Monday, 04 Aug 2008 07:40
Suicides among young men have fallen
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The national suicide rate is at a record low following year-on-year falls in self-inflicted deaths.
Care services minister Ivan Lewis said the overall suicide rate in England (three-year average) was 8.3 deaths per 100,000 people compared to the previous three-year average of 8.5.
The rate of suicides among young men aged 20 to 34 fell 7.5 per cent between 2003-05 and 2004-06.
There has also been progress among mental health patients, with 145 suicides among mental health in-patients in 2005 compared with 157 in 2004.
And there were 1,277 suicides among people in contact with mental health services in 2005, compared to 1,308 in 2004.
But there was a rise in suicides in prison, with 82 self-inflicted deaths in 2007-08 compared with 71 in 2006-07.
"The overall rate of suicide among the general population continues to fall and is now at a record low," Mr Lewis said.
"The continued drop in suicides among young men and mental health in-patients is also encouraging, but we must do more to tackle the rise in prison suicides and promote sensitive media reporting of suicides."