Press release -

SUICIDE THE LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH IN MEN AGED UNDER 50 IN ENGLAND & WALES

SUICIDE THE LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH IN MEN AGED UNDER 50 IN ENGLAND & WALES

Today, the ONS’s latest Statistical Bulletin on suicide indicated a rise in suicide in older men, and showing that more men aged under 50 die from suicide than from road deaths, coronary heart disease, accidental poisoning or diseases of the liver.

Male suicide continues to account for the bulk of all suicides, with rates at more than three times higher than female suicide rates, at 18.2 deaths compared with 5.2 female deaths per 100,000 population. The highest rate of suicide was seen in men aged 40 to 44 years of age.

Jane Powell, Chief Exec of the male suicide prevention charity CALM responded:

“With suicide as the leading death of men aged under 50 in the UK now more than ever we need to understand why gender is such a significant indicator of suicide in men of every age in the UK.”

In an attempt to understand why men in particular take their lives CALM announced 2014 as Year of the Male, a year-long examination of what it means to be a man in modern Britain, see www.YearOftheMale.com.

Read full ONS report here: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171778_351100.pdf

CALM’s website can be found here http://www.thecalmzone.net

Topics

  • Mental Health

Categories

  • men's issues
  • gender
  • health
  • suicide
  • male suicide
  • mental health

NOTES TO EDITORS
Contact: Jane Powell, Chief Exec - CALM Email: janepowell@thecalmzone.net
Tel: 0203 697 9331

About CALM

CALM, the campaign against living miserably is reg charity no 1110621, is an award- winning charity dedicated to preventing male suicide in the UK:

• provides a free, confidential helpline every day of the week, supporting around 30,000 callers a year - 0800 585858 (national) 0808 802 5858 (London) open 7 days a week, 5pm – midnight.

• runs www.thecalmzone.net to reduce stigma and enable men to access help in way that is comfortable and appropriate for them

• publishes a quarterly men's lifestyle magazine, CALMzine

Throughout 2012 there was one male suicide every two hours, of the 5981 suicides, 4590 were male.