NATIONAL TRENDS IN SUICIDE BY AGE, GENDER, GEOGRAPHY, SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND MIGRANT STATUS AND MENTAL HEALTH

在澳大利亚，自杀已成为一个日益重要的公共卫生问题，这主要是因为某些人口亚群体的自杀率在上升，在较小程度上是因为其他外部死亡原因的减少增加了自杀的重要性。自20世纪70年代以来，年轻男性的自杀率有所上升，已经超过机动车事故，成为这一群体的主要死亡原因。青少年自杀对因过早死亡而损失的生命年数产生重大影响。自杀率因社会经济地位、种族、居住地区、年龄和性别而异。例如，在新南威尔士州，发现城市地区年轻男性的自杀率增加了50%，而在偏远的农村地区则增加了5-6倍。另一项研究表明，自杀率因出生国家而异，这反过来又会影响其与社会经济地位的关系。然而，并不是所有的研究都在新南威尔士州得到了重复的结果。例如，在昆士兰州，农村地区的男性青年自杀率并没有大大超过城市地区。在全国范围内，关于澳大利亚自杀率变化的研究很少。迄今为止，大多数关于澳大利亚自杀的研究都局限于州一级的分析或非常有限的国家一级的分析。澳大利亚全国范围内的成年人心理健康和福利统计局以及一项类似的青少年心理健康调查，也推动了全国范围内的自杀问题。因此，第一次有可能将自我报告的精神疾病的人口流行率与自杀率联系起来。简而言之，目前的提案解决了澳大利亚在人口自杀研究方面的两个主要差距：在国家层面上就地理位置、移民和社会经济地位审查自杀；并将调查的精神疾病流行率与自杀率联系起来。

Suicide in Australia has become an increasingly important public health problem, chiefly because of increasing rates in some population sub-groups, and to a lesser extent because declines in other external causes of death have increased the prominence of suicide. Since the 1970s suicide rates have increased in young males and have eclipsed motor vehicle accidents as the dominant cause of death in this group. Suicide in the young produces a significant impact on years of life lost from premature mortality. Suicide rates have been shown to vary by socio-economic status, ethnicity, area of residence, age and sex. In NSW for example, suicide rates in young males have been found to have increased by 50% in urban areas, and by 5-6 times in isolated rural areas. Another study has shown suicide rates to vary by country-of-birth which in turn has an effect on its relationship with socio-economic status. However, not all studies have replicated findings in NSW. In Queensland, for example, it has been shown that male youth suicide rates in rural areas have not substantially exceeded those in urban areas. There have been very few studies at the national level of variations in suicide in Australia. Most studies of Australian suicide to date have been confined to state-level analyses or to very limited nation-level analyses. An additional spur to a whole-nation approach to suicide has been the nation-wide Australian Bureau of Statistics Mental Health and Wellbeing Profile of Adults and a similar mental health survey of youth. Thus for the first time it will be possible to relate population prevalence of self-reported mental illness to suicide rates. In short, the current proposal addresses the two major gaps in Australia in population suicide research: examining suicide at the national level with regard to geographic location, immigrant and socio-economic status; and correlating surveyed prevalence of mental illness with suicide rates.