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Statistics show suicide rates continue to rise in Britain's England, Wales

Source: Xinhua | September 11, 2016, Sunday | Online Edition

THE number of people in Britain's England and Wales killing themselves continues to rise each year, but is almost 30 percent lower than a peak in 1981, Britain's Office for National Statistics (ONS) said Saturday.

The government agency issued figures to mark the World Suicide Prevention Day organized jointly by the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

September 10 was chosen to highlight the fact that globally in the last year, around 800,000 people, or one person every 40 seconds, ended their lives. Around the world a further 20 million people attempted to kill themselves but survived.

ONS said in 2015, there were 5,199 suicides reported in England and Wales, three quarters of them men.

Wales had the highest suicide rate, followed by the Yorkshire/Humber region of England, while the lowest level was seen in the East of England region.

Among men, those aged between 40 and 50 had the highest number of suicides, while women aged 50 to 54 were most likely to kill themselves.

Among people aged 20 to 34, suicide was the leading cause of death, said ONS.

A spokesman for ONS said: "Despite recent increases in the number of suicides, the rate in England and Wales has fallen by 29 percent since 1981. In the late 1980s it reached a peak of 6,000 and fell to less than 4,500 in 2007. The number has been increasing since then."

Professor Ella Arensman, president of IASP from the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at University College Cork in Ireland, said: "Suicide and non-fatal suicidal behaviour are major public health problems across the world. Data from the WHO indicate that approximately one million people worldwide die by suicide each year. This corresponds to one death by suicide every 40 seconds. The number of lives lost each year through suicide exceeds the number of deaths due to homicide and war combined."

An IASP spokesman said: "Suicide does not just occur in high-income countries, but is a global phenomenon in all regions of the world."

"However, suicides are preventable with timely, evidence-based and often low-cost interventions," said the spokesman.

"While the link between suicide and mental disorders (in particular, depression and alcohol use disorders) is well established in high-income countries, many suicides happen impulsively in moments of crisis with a breakdown in the ability to deal with life stresses, such as financial problems, relationship break-up or chronic pain and illness."

"In addition, experiencing conflict, disaster, violence, abuse, or loss and a sense of isolation are strongly associated with suicidal behaviour."

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