Attempted suicide in west London, I. Rates across ethnic communities

Background. Two previous studies from the United Kingdom have suggested tha t rates of attempted suicide in Asian women are higher than in the native p opulation. Method. Over a 1-year period we identified 434 patients presenting from one catchment area to four hospitals, after episodes of self-harm. These patie nts were assessed using the GHQ, CIS-R, and Life Events Inventory, and by c ollecting details of the attempt itself. Results. Asian women had the highest overall rates; 1.6 times those in Whit e women and 2.5 times the rate among Asian men. The rates were lowest among older women. Among younger Asian women (less than 30 years) the rates were 2.5 times those of White women and seven times those of Asian men. The rat es among black groups were lower than expected. Self-poisoning was the comm onest method of self-harm. Conclusions. Younger Asian women are vulnerable to increased rates of attem pted self-harm and deserve to be studied further.