title: Attempted suicide in the elderly in England: age-associated rates, time trends and methods.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Critical study of attempted suicides may allow greater understanding of completed suicides because of the considerable overlap between attempted and completed suicides in the elderly.
  
  
  METHODS
  Age-associated rates (60-74 years versus 75+ years), trends over time and methods of attempted suicide in the elderly in England were examined using recently collected national data for a nine-year period.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The rate of attempted suicides in the 60-74 years age-band increased over the nine-year study period. Rates of intentional self-poisoning by and exposure to non-opiod analgesics, antipyretics and antirheumatics, intentional self-poisoning by and exposure to narcotics and psychodysleptics and intentional self-poisoning by and exposure to other drugs acting on the autonomic nervous system increased over the nine-year study period in both elderly age-bands. The rates and the frequency of intentional self-poisoning by and exposure to non-opiod analgesics, antipyretics and antirheumatics and intentional self-harm by sharp objects were higher in the 75+ years age-band compared to the 60-74 years age-band. The rates and frequency of intentional self-poisoning by and exposure to other drugs acting on the autonomic nervous system, intentional self-poisoning by and exposure to alcohol and intentional self-harm by smoke, fire and flames were higher in the 60-74 year age-band compared to the 75+ years age-band.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is a need to develop strategies to reduce access to targetted methods of attempted suicide in elderly that are most prevalent and increasing over time.
authors.affiliation: University of Central Lancashire, Preston, UK. ajit.shah@wlmht.nhs.uk
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shah
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004739:England; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011041:Poisoning / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends*