§ Mr. Alex CarlileTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what information she has on the five most common occupations of people committing suicide; what information she has on the number of farmers who have committed suicide in each year since 1979; and if she will make a statement.
§ Mr. Yeo[holding answer 23 February 1993]: The most recent information available from the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys concerns the numbers of deaths which have occurred during the period 1979 to 1990, combined, and is shown in table 1. The numbers, however, are simply numbers of deaths where the stated occupation was of a particular type and consequently do not take any account of the actual numbers employed in those occupations. A large number of deaths in a particular occupation therefore may simply indicate that more people are employed in that occupation rather than that employment in that occupation may lead to an increased likelihood of suicide.
As a consequence of the limitations of working with numbers of deaths, without reference to the numbers employed in the occupation group, or groups, of interest, the OPCS favours the use of proportional mortality ratios. A PMR gives an indication of how a particular occupation's mortality from a specific cause differs from the collective experience of all occupations for that specific cause. To cite the case of male farmers aged 16 to 64 years of age for the period 1979 to 1990, inclusive, the PMR of 187 suggests that the number of deaths was nearly twice that which would have been expected, 100 being taken as the experience of all males aged 16 to 64 regardless of occupation. Table 2 shows the five highest PMRS by occupation.
In the case of both tables the information refers to males only aged 16 to 64 years. Information for both males and females, many of whom do not state a specific
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Number of deaths from suicide (E950 to E959) for each county in England and Wales, 1979 to 1985 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 ENGLAND AND WALES 4,195 4,321 4,419 4,279 4,279 4,315 4,419 Greater London 648 644 707 627 652 610 585 Greater Manchester 269 244 281 258 251 217 257 Merseyside 110 95 131 112 125 125 87 South Yorkshire 83 55 68 72 97 69 94 Tyne and Wear 119 85 122 103 84 81 72 West Midlands 202 221 203 235 216 215 211 West Yorkshire 231 219 164 184 155 172 161 Avon 68 66 67 67 52 61 59 Bedfordshire 29 28 33 40 34 35 32 Berkshire 44 59 59 46 41 64 62 occupation, for the same period could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Both tables show the corresponding numbers of deaths and PMRs for comparative purposes.
Table 1 The five most common occupations (ranked according to the number of deaths) of males aged 16–64 years recorded as having committed suicide or where the death was undetermined (E950—E959 and E980—E989, 1979–90 (combined) England and Wales. Occupation Deaths PMR Clerk and cashier (not retail) 1,342 97 Occupation not stated (to include those seeking employment) 1,323 136 Driver of road goods vehicle 1,029 82 Machine tool operator 927 106 Metal working production fitter and fitter/machinist 790 82
Table 2 The five most common occupations (ranked according to Proportional Mortality Ratio) of males aged 16–64 years recorded as having committed suicide or where the death was undetermined (E950—E959 and E980—E989), 1979–90 (combined) England and Wales. Occupation PMR Deaths Vet 364 35 Pharmacist 217 51 Dental practitioner 204 38 Farmer 187 526 Medical practitioner 184 152 Using data on occupational collected at death registration for the years 1979–90 the Proportional Mortality Ratios (PMRs) for men aged 16–64 years have been calculated. The PMR gives an indication of how a particular occupation's mortality from a specific cause (in this case E950—E959 and E980—E989) differs from the collective experience of the same age-group as a whole for that specific cause and regardless of occupation. Thus a PMR of 364 for Vets suggests that this particular occupation group experiences more than 3½ times the number of deaths from suicide and undetermined deaths (E950 —E959 and E980—E989) than would have been expected.
§ Mr. Alex CarlileTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the number of registrations of deaths with a verdict of suicide ICD E950 to E959 in each county in England and Wales in each year since 1979; and if she will make a statement.
§ Mr. Yeo[holding answer 23 February 1993]: The exact information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, the number of deaths from suicide—E950 to E959—is readily available by county of residence and is as follows.
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1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 Buckinghamshire 36 47 51 52 47 54 57 Cambridgeshire 49 49 51 34 46 47 59 Cheshire 82 80 79 72 72 70 88 Cleveland 42 61 33 49 41 32 43 Cornwall and Isle of Scilly 43 35 46 41 40 50 58 Cumbria 31 44 32 45 28 44 49 Derbyshire 56 66 48 46 67 71 70 Devon 85 101 89 84 98 126 97 Dorset 57 64 67 57 46 72 74 Durham 48 62 62 49 49 54 60 East Sussex 50 67 98 75 93 85 81 Essex 117 124 136 140 145 123 165 Gloucestershire 41 36 50 43 40 38 47 Hampshire 117 122 145 144 114 130 139 Hereford and Worcester 45 61 63 49 56 56 68 Hertfordshire 55 71 72 75 69 66 76 Humberside 66 70 73 86 71 71 86 Isle of Wight 10 18 15 12 12 11 6 Kent 109 138 128 116 132 122 133 Lancashire 151 158 139 157 133 148 135 Leicestershire 73 59 78 66 65 81 88 Lincolnshire 47 43 50 50 50 56 51 Norfolk 61 66 85 72 62 76 71 Northamptonshire 50 52 21 13 37 60 42 Northumberland 19 24 21 27 28 20 30 North Yorkshire 53 61 69 57 84 60 68 Nottinghamshire 93 96 91 99 88 99 102 Oxfordshire 33 41 39 31 38 33 41 Shropshire 27 27 35 16 34 26 35 Somerset 30 35 53 36 43 47 46 Staffordshire 89 86 59 64 71 74 87 Suffolk 51 58 51 54 61 54 70 Surrey 77 64 63 69 79 85 89 Warwickshire 41 42 52 39 50 40 49 West Sussex 64 64 57 74 62 72 81 Wiltshire 42 62 58 49 48 53 48 Clwyd 26 41 26 40 30 35 37 Dyfed 43 35 29 41 33 32 11 Gwent 31 19 27 33 31 33 23 Gwynedd 20 18 25 20 16 22 25 Mid Glamorgan 38 43 39 47 51 40 36 Powys 4 10 11 10 17 13 10 South Glamorgan 53 44 35 45 53 50 30 West Glamorgan 17 26 21 35 25 24 22 Outside England and Wales1 20 15 12 22 17 11 16 1 Deaths of individuals not normally resident in England and Wales. 750W751W
Number of deaths from suicide (E950 to E959) for each county in England and Wales, 1986 to 1991 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 ENGLAND AND WALES 4,126 3,986 4,220 3,717 3,950 3,893 Greater London 526 536 564 479 506 456 Greater Manchester 247 224 234 204 197 243 Merseyside 115 104 124 98 106 85 South Yorkshire 87 76 80 75 78 97 Tyne and Wear 78 58 63 68 66 65 West Midlands 214 167 222 191 192 190 West Yorkshire 159 167 168 147 149 161 Avon 50 64 70 52 59 61 Bedfordshire 37 31 38 34 36 44 Berkshire 54 37 46 51 60 51 Buckinghamshire 43 60 48 53 42 49 Cambridgeshire 70 57 63 61 53 60 Cheshire 62 61 59 60 63 66 Cleveland 40 39 62 36 31 42 Cornwall and Isle of Scilly 37 49 53 43 51 43 Cumbria 39 48 32 29 40 40 Derbyshire 59 74 72 66 57 77 Devon 115 105 103 121 88 106 Dorset 59 60 42 56 70 43 Durham 57 49 54 50 42 38 East Sussex 88 60 70 65 78 83 Essex 132 129 157 121 133 124 Gloucestershire 36 33 61 32 44 37 Hampshire 129 122 124 110 125 146
1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 Hereford and Worcester 56 63 46 56 62 52 Hertfordshire 78 71 58 60 53 61 Humberside 86 80 92 63 66 58 Isle of Wight 3 8 7 7 13 6 Kent 116 115 108 109 136 108 Lancashire 160 140 109 108 128 122 Leicestershire 73 63 68 76 63 63 Lincolnshire 42 55 61 48 59 52 Norfolk 64 74 68 59 66 64 Northamptonshire 43 46 54 54 69 56 Northumberland 30 14 24 23 18 12 North Yorkshire 59 69 55 58 55 47 Nottinghamshire 76 88 98 76 72 79 Oxfordshire 36 29 45 54 58 38 Shropshire 41 32 34 23 27 28 Somerset 49 43 37 41 61 46 Staffordshire 66 67 65 45 65 55 Suffolk 50 52 59 46 69 53 Surrey 77 82 96 75 68 82 Warwickshire 41 45 40 46 31 33 West Sussex 55 54 86 45 52 59 Wiltshire 43 45 49 41 53 49 Clwyd 16 31 32 30 26 45 Dyfed 32 28 25 25 32 31 Gwent 31 27 30 22 27 23 Gwynedd 25 26 13 20 26 25 Mid Glamorgan 59 46 44 33 33 43 Powys 17 7 14 7 19 15 South Glamorgan 32 34 42 35 30 38 West Glamorgan 22 33 41 18 28 25 Outside England and Wales' 15 9 11 12 19 18 1 Deaths of individuals not normally resident in England and Wales.