This report, part of a series of monitoring reports released annually, presents and summarises the latest suicide and intentional self-harm hospitalisation data available.
Key Results
Latest statistics show:
- Suicide deaths in 2005A total of 502 people died by suicide in 2005, compared with 488 in 2004. The three-year moving average rate of suicide for 2003–2005 was 13.2 deaths per 100,000 population. This rate represents a 19.0% decrease from the 1996-1998 peak (16.3 per 100,000), and continues the downward trend of recent years.
- The sub-groups of the population with the highest three-year moving suicide mortality rates in 2003–2005 were males, Māori (as opposed to non- Māori), those in the age group of 15–44 years, and those residing in the most deprived areas (deprivation quintile 5).
- It was also evident that Wairarapa, Northland and MidCentral District Health Boards had significantly higher suicide rates than the national average in the 2003-2005 period. Hospitalisations for intentional self-harm in 2006
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- There were 5400 hospitalisations for intentional self-harm in 2006, equating to a rate of 151.7 per 100,000 population. This represents a 7.5% increase from the rate in 2005 (141.1 per 100,000 or 4,992 hospitalisations).
- The sub-groups of the New Zealand population with the highest intentional self-harm hospitalisation rates in 2006 were females, Māori (as opposed to non- Māori), those in the life-cycle stage 15–24 years, and those residing in the most deprived areas (quintile five).
- It was also evident that MidCentral, Canterbury, Lakes, Waikato and Otago and significantly higher hospitalisation rates for self-harm than the national average in 2003–2005.