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Suicide trends diverge by method: Swiss suicide rates 1969–2005

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2020

U. Hepp ,
M. Ring ,
A. Frei ,
W. Rössler ,
U. Schnyder  and
V. Ajdacic-Gross
U. Hepp*
Affiliation:
Psychiatrische Dienste Aargau AG, Haselstrasse 1, 5401Baden, Switzerland
M. Ring
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical and Social Psychiatry, Psychiatric University Hospital, Zürich, Switzerland
A. Frei
Affiliation:
Luzerner Psychiatrie, Lucerne, Switzerland
W. Rössler
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical and Social Psychiatry, Psychiatric University Hospital, Zürich, Switzerland
U. Schnyder
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland
V. Ajdacic-Gross
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical and Social Psychiatry, Psychiatric University Hospital, Zürich, Switzerland
*
*Corresponding author. Tel.: +41 56 461 92 00; fax: +41 56 461 92 10. E-mail address: urs.hepp@pdag.ch (U. Hepp).
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Abstract

We examined the change in Swiss suicide rates since 1969, breaking down the rates according to the method used. The descriptive analyses of the main suicide methods are presented. The suicide rates reached a peak in the late 1970s/early 1980s and declined in more recent years. Firearm suicides and suicides by falls were the exception and sustained their upwards trend until the 1990s. Suicide by vehicle exhaust asphyxiation showed a rapid decline following the introduction of catalytic converters in motor vehicles. No substantial method substitution was observed. Suicide by poisoning declined in the 1990s but rose again following an increase in assisted suicide in somatically incurable patients. Suicide is too often regarded as a homogeneous phenomenon. With regard to the method they choose, suicide victims are a heterogeneous population and it is evident that different suicide methods are chosen by different people. A better understanding of the varying patterns of change over time in the different suicide methods used may lead to differentiated preventive strategies.

Keywords

SuicidePreventionFirearmsAsphyxiaVehicle emissionsPoisoning
Type
Original article
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 25 , Issue 3 , April 2010 , pp. 129 - 135
Copyright
Copyright © Elsevier Masson SAS 2009

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