Improving procedures for recording suicide statistics

Objective - To explore the changing relationship between rates of suicide and undetermined death in Britain and Ireland. Design - Longitudinal analysis of the official statistics relating to unnatural deaths in England and Wales and the Republic of Ireland between 1976 and 1992. Main outcome measures - Male and female rates of suicide and undetermined deaths for Ireland and England and Wales, age adjusted to the standard world population. Ratio of undetermined deaths to suicide. Results - The official Irish male suicide rate is now much higher than that of England and Wales while the female rates are broadly similar. The rate of undetermined deaths has risen amongst English males and remained stable for females but has significantly fallen off among both Irish males and females. The proportion of deaths classified as 'undetermined' is now very much less in Ireland than in England and Wales. Discussion - National plans for suicide prevention in either country cannot be properly audited unless improved procedures are put in place to increase the validity and reliability of the official suicide figures. Each country could beneficially learn from the other in this regard.