AN EPIDEMIOLOGIC-STUDY OF ALCOHOL AND SUICIDE RISK IN OHIO JAILS AND LOCKUPS, 1975-1984

This article reports a population-based study of jail and lockup suici des in Ohio. Jails are ;facilities that hold inmates for periods that are usually longer than 48 hours, and they are administered by local, city, and county authorities. Lockups house persons for less than 48 h ours; they include drunk tanks. Demographic information and criminal a rrest records for 228 cases of suicide occurring between 1975 and 1985 were obtained from death certificates and local jail records. Two-hun dred and fifteen cases were male (94 percent), 177 were white (78 perc ent), and the mean age was 28 years. The estimated suicide rate for ma les in Ohio jails for 1983 was 3.1 per 100,000, although rates varied by county. The rate for lockups could not be determined. The most freq uent method of suicide in these jails was hanging (98 percent) by arti cles of clothing, bells, or bedding. Over 40 percent of the cases had been arrested for alcohol-related crimes. These cases were significant ly more likely to commit suicide within the first 24 hours of incarcer ation than other cases (relative risk = 6.9, 95 percent CI = 3.1-15.4) . Among those cases committing suicide within the first 24 hours after admission, intoxicated cases committed suicide significantly more qui ckly than other cases (9.0 +/- 1.6 hours, versus 16.8 +/- 1.3 hours).