Table 1 Summary statistics of the distribution of the number, raw standardised mortality ratios and smoothed rate ratios of suicide and undetermined deaths in men aged 15–44‐ years in 1988–94, as well as population denominators (men aged 15–44‐ years) and area characteristics (all ages) from the 1991 census across electoral wards in England and Wales (n = 9265).
| Total | Mean | SD | Min | 5% | Median | 95% | Max | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suicide mortality, 1988–94 | ||||||||
| No of deaths* | 15 710 | 1.70 | 2.07 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 21 |
| SMRs | 1.02 | 1.16 | 0 | 0 | 0.77 | 3.23 | 10.64 | |
| When restricted to areas with at least 1 death (n = 6116)† | 1.54 | 1.11 | 0.26 | 0.42 | 1.26 | 3.73 | 10.64 | |
| Smoothed estimates‡ | 1.01 | 0.18 | 0.61 | 0.77 | 0.98 | 1.34 | 2.55 | |
| Area characteristics, 1991 | ||||||||
| Area populations | 11 314 656 | 1 221 | 1 028 | 12 | 237 | 927 | 3 318 | 11 333 |
| Socioeconomic characteristics | ||||||||
| Single‐person households (%) | 25.03 | 6.76 | 4.87 | 16.31 | 23.90 | 38.04 | 63.80 | |
| Households privately renting (%)§ | 10.46 | 8.21 | 0.64 | 2.63 | 8.16 | 25.94 | 94.41 | |
| Population mobility (%)§ | 9.54 | 3.57 | 2.82 | 5.61 | 8.81 | 16.11 | 45.60 | |
| Unmarried adult population (%) | 39.73 | 7.20 | 17.03 | 31.38 | 38.12 | 55.19 | 75.36 | |
| Not owner‐occupied households (%) | 30.46 | 15.61 | 0.58 | 9.82 | 27.76 | 61.32 | 98.95 | |
| Households with no car (%) | 27.04 | 14.75 | 3.39 | 9.51 | 23.45 | 56.18 | 95.08 | |
| Overcrowded households (%)§ | 1.70 | 1.59 | 0.00 | 0.33 | 1.29 | 4.53 | 29.80 | |
| Unemployed population (%)§ | 9.61 | 5.57 | 1.88 | 4.23 | 7.80 | 21.05 | 49.31 | |
| Lone‐parent households (%)§ | 3.03 | 2.15 | 0.00 | 0.92 | 2.38 | 7.50 | 17.50 | |
| Social class IV and V households (%) | 17.97 | 7.94 | 0.00 | 6.35 | 17.19 | 31.94 | 80.00 | |
| Population limiting long‐term illness (%) | 11.70 | 3.45 | 2.41 | 7.09 | 11.19 | 18.09 | 31.64 | |
| Rurality indicators | ||||||||
| Population potential (people/m)§ | 482.89 | 186.61 | 123 | 257 | 448 | 910 | 1152 | |
| Population density (people/ha)§ | 19.72 | 25.91 | 0.02 | 0.28 | 9.20 | 67.68 | 216.46 | |
m, metre; SMR, standardised mortality ratios.
*A total of 15 821 suicide and undetermined deaths occurred in 1988–94. For 15 710 of these deaths, postcode information was available and was successfully assigned to the electoral ward to which they geographically corresponded (99.3% of all deaths); this is the total number used in all analyses.
†No deaths were recorded in 3149 wards (34% of all areas); thus, in these areas, a zero SMR was calculated.
‡Excludes the Scilly Isles where no deaths were recorded. Smoothed estimates in these five wards were uncharacteristic of the distribution of the rest of the smoothed estimates, as the models assumed that these island wards were neighbours only to themselves (and nowhere in the mainland).
§Because of their skewed distributions, log‐transformed levels of these variables (using the natural logarithm) were used in all analyses.