Suicide mortality in Olot from 1936 until 2000

Abstract

Introduction. Suicide in Spain has increased in both genders and in different age groups.

It is important to evaluate the tendencies of this phenomenon. This study describes suicide mortality in a limited and homogeneous population, which offers the possibility of collecting detailed data over a long time period (1936-2).

Methods. Suicide cases were extracted from data in regional archives and from autopsy reports in the Olot court registry office. The suicide rate per 100,
inhabitants was calculated by analyzing the number of suicides and inhabitants in 5-year groups.

Results. Suicide occurred more frequently in males and in the over 65-year old population. The suicide rate fluctuated during the period studied. Among males, the peak was 14.92 during 1961-1965 and lowered to 8.68 in 1996-2
. The suicide rate in females was always lower than for men, except during 1946-1950 (7.71 vs. 3.09) and 1976-80 (5.7 vs. 4.9). The most common methods used were hanging (52%) and shooting (18%). There was no difference in the methods among females.

Conclusions. The demographic and methodological data reflect those obtained in similar studies. In the last 10 years of the study, Olot citizens did not have a higher risk of suicide than the population of the rest of Spain. This result should be interpreted considering the limits related to the methodology used in the data collection.