Suicide in Fiji: a preliminary study.
A survey of police and medical records in a province of Fiji indicated high rates of suicide for Indian women under 30 and for Indian men over that age, especially amongst families engaged in sugar-cane farming. Indian suicide rates were high during the Indenture period (1879-1920), and are still higher amongst Indians than amongst native Fijians: almost 90% of all suicides are Indian, though this group comprises only 50% of Fiji's total population. Age/sex/ethnic distribution, methods, and precipitating factors of recorded suicides were examined for one province of Vanua Levu during the period 1979-82. The increasing use of toxic herbicides, especially paraquat, as a vehicle for suicide is discussed.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005367:Fiji; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage; D008875:Middle Aged; D012067:Religion; D012424:Rural Population; D012737:Sex Factors; D013405:Suicide / Q000453:epidemiology*