Analysis of multisource data establishes wide-ranging antecedents of youth suicide in England

ABSTRACT FROM: Rodway C, Tham S, Ibrahim S, et al . Suicide in children and young people in England: a consecutive case series. Lancet Psychiatry 2016;3:751–59. Suicide is a leading cause of death among young people worldwide and an international public health concern.1 While research has established common risk factors that may serve as key components of suicide prevention strategies (eg, past suicidal behaviour, psychiatric disorders, substance abuse), little is known about specific antecedents of youth suicide. Knowing what factors precede youth suicide can help frame targets for intervention and identify promising sites for suicide prevention. The authors collected data from the Office for National Statistics about people aged 10–19 years who died by suicide in England or were a resident of England. The researchers took a novel approach in analyzing suicide deaths reported between 1 January 2014 and 30 April 2015 by multiagency sources such as coroners, police and …