Document text
--> --> Statistics puncture myths about likelihood of suicide PORTLAND (AP) - State health statistics show Oregonians 58 percent more likely to commit suicide on their birthdays than on any other day. And myths aside, it is not true that suicide rates rise with the winter darkness, peak around Christmas and edge back down during the brighter days of spring and summer. "Where that idea started I don't know," said John L. McIntosh, a psychologist at Indiana University at South Bend and past president of the American Association of Suicidology. "It has a life of its own." McIntosh said suicide rates peak in spring and early summer, just as the weather improves. They fall in the winter and reach their annual low around Christmastime, when daylight wanes. Statistics also show that Monday is the most common day for suicides and Saturday the least. "The beginnings of things tend to be associated with high suicide rates," said David Hopkins, a research analyst in the Oregon Health Division. The reason beginnings, including spring, have higher suicide rates may have to do with the double edge of expectations, Hopkins said. High expectations can bring dashed hopes. If you're prone to depression, even the summer solstice can be a dark time, especially when others appear upbeat. More Americans kill themselves, nearly 31,000 a year, than are killed by others. Suicide is the eighth-leading cause of death and the leading cause in the deaths of teen-agers and adults under 25. In Oregon, the suicide rate is even higher - seventh-highest in the nation. Nevada ranks first, New Jersey last. A total of 499 Oregonians died by suicide in 1999. For every completed suicide, there are about 24 attempts. Both nationally and in Oregon, males are far more likely than females to complete a suicide. Suicidal men tend to use more lethal means, such as firearms or hanging. Women are more likely to try a drug overdose. Suicide rates nationwide rise with age. In Oregon, the suicide rate for men older than 80 is nearly triple the rate for male teen-agers. A much bigger factor than bad weather, Hopkins said, is the availability of firearms. About 57 percent of suicides nationally, and 62 percent in Oregon, involve gunshots. One hopeful trend: Nationally and in Oregon, the suicide rate among teen-agers and young adults, which rose steadily during the early and mid-1990s, turned downward in 1997. Whether that will continue is not clear, said Ron Bloodworth, youth suicide prevention coordinator for the Health Division. The strong economy of the late 1990s - and the increasing availability of anti-depressant medications - may have helped cause the change. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing