title: Alcohol ingestion and age of death in hanging suicides.
abstract: Retrospective review of 100 consecutive, nondecomposed cases of suicide because of hanging was conducted at Forensic Science SA, Australia. Alcohol was detected in 38 cases (38%). The percentage of victims who had ingested alcohol significantly decreased with age (r(2)=0.81), with alcohol detected in 57.1% of those aged ≤24 years, compared to 28.5% of those aged between 55 and 64 years, and 0% of those aged ≥65 years. A similar linear relationship between alcohol ingestion and age was found for cases with blood alcohol levels >0.05 g/100 mL (r(2)=0.73). The mean ages of those with detectable alcohol (35.2 years) levels >0.05 g/100 mL (35.1 years) and levels >0.1 g/100 mL (37.2 years) were all significantly less than in those with no detectable alcohol (44.4 years) (p<0.005, <0.005, <0.05 respectively). A clear relationship between alcohol ingestion and younger age was shown in hanging suicides.
authors.affiliation: Forensic Science SA, 21 Divett Place, Adelaide, SA, 5000, Australia.
authors.forename: Rexson
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tse
authors.forename: Noel
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sims
authors.forename: Roger W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Byard
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001237:Asphyxia / Q000401:mortality*; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants / Q000097:blood; D000431:Ethanol / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D049429:Forensic Pathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019838:Neck Injuries / Q000401:mortality; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013405:Suicide / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants; D000431:Ethanol