Citation

Li S, Hauser LA, Gao B. Tex. Med. 2001; 97(5): 64-68.

Affiliation

Austin Psychiatric Resident Program, Austin State Hospital, 4110 Guadalupe, Austin, TX 78751, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2001, Texas Medical Assn)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

11379190

Abstract

Suicide, the ninth leading cause of death in the United States, has not been adequately studied in Travis County, Texas. To describe the occurrence of completed suicide in Travis County, 426 cases of completed suicide from 1994 through 1998 were collected and the data were analyzed with the chi 2 test and the t test. The annual suicide rate in Travis County is 13.0 per 100,000. Caucasian males have the highest annual suicide rate among all races, followed by Hispanics and, then, blacks. The highest suicide rate was seen in persons aged 75 years and older. The second most frequent rate was for those aged 45 through 54 years. Guns are the most common means of suicide in both males and females (60.8% and 37.3%, respectively). A person who is Caucasian, male, and aged 75 years and older is at the highest risk. Reducing the availability of firearms may have a significant impact on the suicide rates in Travis County.