THE suicide rate in Kerry may be more than double the national average, a new study suggests.
Based on an examination of suicides in the county in 1988, the study concludes that the incidence that year was 18.58 per 100,000 of the population. The national average was 7.52 per 100,000, according to official figures.
The study's results are published in the Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine.
By studying the records of post mortem examinations, the authors identified 16 deaths by suicide in Kerry in 1988. These included four deaths not recorded in the official data. Official statistics recorded 19 deaths, including four for which researchers could trace no post mortem records.
Having examined the two sets of statistics, the authors conclude that 23 people took their lives in Kerry in 1988. The results should be interpreted with caution as they refer only to a single year, the authors warn.
The 16 cases identified involved eight men and eight women. Hanging was the method men chose most often, while women chose poisoning.
Suicide victims often suffer from depression, writes psychiatrist Dr Michael J Kelleher, author of Suicide and the Irish, in the same issue. "These mood changes influence choice, including choice of dying. Successful treatment might be expected to reduce rates although there is no evidence that the advent and use of anti depressants has attained this end. One reason for this may be that some ... may not be coming forward for treatment." About one in 100 deaths today is self inflicted, Dr Kelleher writes.