The suicide rate in Britain has risen dramatically to the highest level since 2002, official figures show.
In 2018, 6,507 suicides were registered in the UK, up 11.8% on the previous year, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The BBC says three-quarters of deaths from suicide registered in 2018 were of men, with 17.2 deaths from suicide per 100,000, up from 15.5 per 100,000 in 2017.
Men in their late 40s remain the age group with the highest suicide rate, but young men aged between 20 and 24 and those aged between 80 and 84 also saw rises.
A significant increase was also seen among young girls and women aged 10 to 24.
“While the exact reasons for [the rise] are unknown, the latest data shows this was largely driven by an increase among men who have continued to be most at risk of dying by suicide,” said Nick Stripe, head of health analysis and life events at the ONS.
“In recent years, there have also been increases in the rate among young adults, with females under 25 reaching the highest rate on record for their age group.”
Tom Madders, from the charity YoungMinds, told the BBC he has explored the “complex” reasons why young people might feel such despair.
He said: “We know that traumatic experiences at a young age - like bereavement, bullying or abuse - can have a huge impact on mental health. School pressure, concerns about how you look and difficult relationships with family or friends can also have a significant effect.”
A less dramatic reason for the increase is that changes have been made in the last year to the way coroners record such deaths, explains The Guardian.
In July 2018, the standard of proof used by coroners to determine whether a death was suicide was lowered from beyond reasonable doubt to the balance of probabilities.
-
What to know before turning to AI for financial advicethe explainer It can help you crunch the numbers — but it might also pocket your data
-
Book reviews: 'The Headache: The Science of a Most Confounding Affliction—and a Search for Relief' and 'Tonight in Jungleland: The Making of Born to Run'Feature The search for a headache cure and revisiting Springsteen's 'Born to Run' album on its 50th anniversary
-
Keith McNally' 6 favorite books that have ambitious charactersFeature The London-born restaurateur recommends works by Leo Tolstoy, John le Carré, and more
-
The mental health crisis affecting vetsUnder The Radar Death of Hampshire vet highlights mental health issues plaguing the industry
-
What's behind rise in duo euthanasia?Under The Radar The 'saddest deaths of all' have stirred controversy in the Netherlands
-
The dangerous search for bodies in the River ThamesThe Explainer Retrieving corpses is difficult due to 'massive' tidal range and fast current of deep, dark water
-
Afghanistan has a growing female suicide problemSpeed Read The Taliban has steadily whittled away women's and girls' rights in Afghanistan over the past 2 years, prompting a surge in depression and suicide
-
Neanderthal gene ‘caused up to a million Covid deaths’Speed Read Genetic tweak found in one in six Britons means cells in the lungs are slower to launch defences
-
Legalising assisted dying: a complex, fraught and ‘necessary’ debateSpeed Read The Assisted Dying Bill – which would allow doctors to assist in the deaths of terminally ill patients – has relevance for ‘millions’
-
Vaccinating children: it’s decision time for the health secretary as kids return to schoolSpeed Read Sajid Javid readying NHS England to roll out jab for children over 12, amid fears infections will rocket
-
‘Vaccination blunts, but does not defeat’: exploring Israel’s fourth Covid waveSpeed Read Two months ago, face masks were consigned to bins. Now the country is in a ‘unique moment of epidemiological doubt’
