Suicide after drinking disproportionately affects Māori and Pacific women

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2024-10-18 00:01

New Zealand

Photo by Marlis Trio Akbar on Unsplash

Drinking-associated suicides in NZ are strongly linked with ethnicity for women, but with other factors for men. Researchers studied deaths in 2007-2020 by 'intentional self-harm' where blood alcohol content data were available, with a quarter of suicides in both women and men showing signs of acute alcohol use. Māori women had a 35% higher risk, and Pacific women a 75% higher risk of such deaths (though based on small numbers) compared to European women, but ethnicity was less influential for men, whose risk increased more with employment and being widowed. The researchers suggest Māori and Pacific women are disproportionately affected by several risk factors like racism, socioeconomic disadvantage, and trauma that influence both alcohol use and suicidal behaviour, and that we need public health interventions designed by and for such specific demographic groups, alongside population-level alcohol interventions.
***This media release and paper contains information some readers may find distressing as it refers to data about mental health, suicide and self-harm. If you or anyone you know needs help, support is available now. Call Lifeline (NZ) on 0800 543 354. ***

Media release

From: Pasifika Medical Association Group

Being acutely affected by alcohol can increase suicide risk. In this study, we used coronial data to understand the characteristics associated with suicide involving alcohol. We also investigated the factors associated with whether alcohol is coded as being contributory to death. Our conclusion is that targeted public health interventions designed by and for specific demographic groups are needed, alongside universal interventions that address social and structural determinants, and reduce alcohol use.

Journal/
conference: New Zealand Medical Journal

Organisation/s: University of Otago, Te Whatu Ora - Health New Zealand, The University of Melbourne

Funder: The data for this research was generated by a grant from the Oakley Mental Health Foundation (grant awarded to RC and JMB). Author KW is funded by an emerging leader fellowship from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (1177787). We acknowledge the Victorian Department of Justice and Community Safety as the organisation source of the data, and the National Coronial Information System (NCIS) as the database source of the data.

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