SUICIDE, ROAD TRAFFIC AND CANCER DEATHS AMONG THE YOUNG IN IRELAND

Every young suicide occurring in Ireland from 1976 to 1993 was reviewe d and comparisons made with deaths from road traffic accidents and dea ths from cancer. As well as this, suicide occurring in the under 25 ag e group in a series of a hundred consecutive suicides were examined to see what methods were used and what treatments received. Whereas canc er deaths and road traffic deaths are falling among the young, suicide among young Irish males continues to rise, Few appear to have elected for psychiatric treatment in the year before their death, The researc h implications of these findings are discussed.