Alcohol and Suicide at the Population Level--The Canadian Experience

• NCJ Number: 212400
• Journal: Drug and Alcohol Review Volume: 24 Issue: 3 Dated: May 2005 Pages: 203-208
• Author(s): Mats Ramstedt
• Date Published: May 2005
• Length: 6 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: Swedish Ministry of Health and Social Affairs
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined the relationship between alcohol consumption and suicide in Canada and compared the relationship across Canadian Provinces and with some other countries.

Abstract

Suicide mortality data were obtained from Statistics Canada and converted into age-standardized rates per 100,000 inhabitants 15 years old and older. Official sales of alcohol were used as a measure of alcohol consumption. The unemployment rate was included as a control variable based on previous research. Data were analyzed with ARIMA time-series models in order to estimate the relationship between per capita consumption and the suicide rate. The highest postwar suicide rates were found in the Provinces with the highest per capita consumption of alcohol; whereas the lowest rates were found in Maritimes having the lowest drinking levels. The male suicide rate was about three to five times higher than the rate for females, but the regional pattern was generally the same for men and women. The analysis suggests that approximately 25-30 percent of suicides in Canada were related to alcohol consumption. This relationship was stronger for women than for men. A significant effect was found in all Provinces but Quebec, but the overall regional variation was not statistically significant. In an international comparison, the relationship for women was somewhat weaker than in Sweden and Norway, but larger than in Finland, the United States, and Southern European countries. For men, the association was similar to that found in the United States and Finland; weaker than in Sweden, Norway, and Russia; and stronger than in Southern European countries. Thus, the study results only partially support the view that intoxication frequency explains national differences in suicide rates. The findings for Canada suggest that it is one of the countries in which alcohol consumption tends to raise suicide rates both among men and women. 2 tables and 30 references