Trends in suicide by drowning in the elderly in England and Wales 1979-2001

Suicide by drowning increases with age but its rates vary between countries and among communities. Drowning suicide rates in some of the available studies may have been over reported or under reported because of misclassification.

This study presents data on the time trends, age/sex mortality rates from death by drowning in the elderly in England and Wales between 1979 and 2001. All coroners' verdicts in death by drowning; suicide, deaths undetermined whether accidentally or purposely inflicted were examined.

Counts of suicide due to drowning and submersion [ICD 9 codes; E954] and undetermined injury deaths [E984] (WHO, 1977), reported in England and Wales between 1979 and 2001 were obtained from National Statistics (ONS).

There has been a gradual reduction in suicide by drowning in men and women by more than a third the observed count in 1979 (p < 0.01). However, this decline was less evident in the elderly particularly those over the age of 75. Elderly drownings appear to attract more verdicts of suicide compared to younger age groups (Odds Ratio 4.3 95% CI 2.3-8.3). Women, particularly elderly, are more likely to have a suicide verdict returned in drowning compared to men (Odds Ratio 1.5 95% CI 1.1-1.6).

The high rate of open verdicts in elderly drowning over the study period and compared to any other method of fatal self harm in England and Wales confirms the difficulties in reaching a firm conclusion in drowning death. Therefore combining suicide and all undetermined deaths in drowning as a matter of course, in nationally collected statistics, may result in grossly exaggerated rates and misleading trends in suicidal drowning. Suicide by drowning is probably not amenable to prevention and although the elderly are often thought to benefit more from suicide prevention than younger adults, the study findings seem to suggest that this is not likely to be the case in drowning.