Mental problems 'cause 90% of suicides'

More than 90 per cent of people who die by suicide have an undiagnosed or untreated psychiatric disorder, a conference heard yesterday.

Prof John Mann, professor of psychiatry at Columbia University, New York, said the failure to identify these problems was a major obstacle to reducing suicide levels. He was speaking at the start of a three-day conference in Dublin organised by the 3Ts charity, to raise awareness through research, education and support.

"Not only are we not responding adequately to the issue of suicide, but we're not even getting to first base, given the level of untreated psychiatric disorders," he said.

Environmental factors such as social change or the declining influence of the church - frequently cited as contributing to suicide in Ireland - were only relevant if people had psychiatric problems, he said. There was an urgent need to educate health professionals, the public, and patients about the link between psychiatric problems and suicide, as part of wider suicide prevention programmes, said Prof Mann.

Research had found that reducing access to the means of death had also helped to reduce suicide levels, he said. In particular, gun control and the introduction of the catalytic converter helped reduce suicide in many jurisdictions.

The President, Mrs McAleese, who opened the conference yesterday, said the rise in suicide among young people was a "dark cloud" which had gathered over the country in recent years.

Suicide is the biggest cause of death among the 15-24 age group in Ireland. There were 12 suicides per 100,000 of the population in this age group in 1991, but this rose to 17.5 by 2001.

President McAleese called on experts and support groups to work together and share information to shed more light on the factors which lead to suicide.

"This is a problem we share with other countries around the world. All these pockets of knowledge, wealth and experience need to be joined up. Everyone must understand that they have a unique perspective," she said.

Prof Kevin Malone, professor of psychiatry at St Vincent's hospital, underlined the need for an all-Ireland survey of people who have lost a loved one to suicide to learn more about the problem.

"We have got to get beyond statistics and get through to people. We need an all-Ireland survey because everyone can help. It's everyone's problem, not someone else's. It affects everyone from Achill Island to Aylesbury Road," he said.

Former Garda sergeant Mr Michael Egan will speak at the conference today about the role of gardaí in breaking the news of a suicide to a family. Mr Egan has set up a training programme for gardaí on how best to tell families of a sudden death and how best to help them.

Prof Carol Fitzpatrick, professor of child psychiatry at UCD, will also tell the conference of a programme called "Tackling Tough Times", aimed at adolescents coping with depression and other emotional problems.