Measuring Up - A Health Surveillance Update on Canadian Children and Youth

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Suicide

Suicide rates among youth 10-19 years of age have remained steady or increased slightly over the last 15 years.

Suicide follows motor vehicle crashes as the leading cause of injury death in both males and females aged 10-19 years.⁽¹⁾ Injuries account for 67.7% of all deaths in this age group, while suicide alone accounts for 19.5% of the deaths. As suicide among children younger than 10 years old is exceedingly rare, this indicator is limited to older children and youth, aged 10-19 years. The suicide rate is the number of intentionally self-inflicted deaths per 100,000 population per year.

In 1996, there were 271 (6.7 per 100,000) suicides in 10-19 years olds in Canada. Suicide starts to become significant among 10-14 year olds, with a rate of 2.0 per 100,000 overall (3.0/100,000 among males and 0.9/100,000 among females in 1996). It increases alarmingly among the 15-19 year olds, with an overall rate of 11.5/100,000 (18.4/100,000 among males and 4.2/100,000 among females in 1996). Although suicide deaths are more frequent in males, non-fatal self-inflicted injuries, many of which are suicide attempts, are more common in young females. Hospitalization rates for these self-inflicted injuries in 1995-96 were 192.8/100,000 for 10-19 year old females compared with 67.3/100,000 for males of the same age.⁽⁵⁾ Suicide rates among First Nations in Canada are three to four times higher than the rate in the general population.⁽⁶⁾

Unlike rates of death due to unintentional injury, suicide rates among 10-19 year olds have remained steady or increased slightly over the last 15 years, as illustrated in Figure 5.

Figure 5: Suicide Rates, ages 10-19 years, Canada, 1980-1996

Note: Rates are standardized to the age distribution of the 1991 Canadian population.
Source: Bureau of Reproductive and Child Health, LCDC, based on Statistics Canada data⁽¹⁾

The methods used by 10-19 year olds to commit suicide include firearms, drugs, carbon monoxide poisoning and hanging. With the exception of hanging there is no marked trend in the method of suicide. During recent years, rates of suicide from hanging among 10-19 years olds increased from 2.2/100,000 in 1990 to 3.7/100,000 in 1996. It is also noteworthy that recent suicide rates for all-ages attributed to firearms were lower in Canada than in the United States (3.2/100,000 vs. 7.0/100,000).⁽³⁾

Figure 6 compares Canada's suicide rate for all ages with rates from selected developed countries.⁽³⁾

Figure 6: Suicide Rates, all ages, selected countries, 1993-1995

Note: Time periods for individual country rates differ.
Source: Fingerhut et al. 1998⁽³⁾

Data limitations
Since coroners' and medical examiners' findings are not always available in time for inclusion in Statistics Canada publications, the numbers of suicides, homicides and unintentional injuries may be underestimated.⁽⁴⁾ Differences in international injury data must be interpreted with caution since some variation may be due to between-country differences in death registration, certification, classification and population enumeration.

Summary
Suicide and intentionally self-inflicted, non-fatal injuries are important causes of mortality and morbidity among young Canadians. Unfortunately, efforts to reduce suicide in Canada have not yet resulted in declining mortality. In addition to prevention programs, ongoing research and surveillance are required to profile the problem, track trends over time and evaluate interventions.

Unless referenced otherwise, suicide statistics are the product of the Bureau of Reproductive and Child Health, LCDC⁽¹⁾

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