Table 1.
Rates of suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts, non-suicidal self-harm (NSSH) thoughts and NSSH by age group
| 18–23 years | 24–29 years | 30–35 years | All age groups | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lifetime | Past year | Lifetime | Past year | Lifetime | Past year | Lifetime | Past year | |
| All students, % (95% CI) | ||||||||
| Suicidal thoughts | 19.8 (19.4 to 20.3) | 7.0 (6.7 to 7.2) | 22.3 (21.7 to 23.0) | 7.5 (7.1 to 7.9) | 27.6 (25.9 to 29.3) | 7.5 (6.5 to 8.5) | 21.0 (20.7 to 21.4) | 7.2 (6.9 to 7.4) |
| Suicide attempts | 3.7 (3.5 to 3.9) | 0.4 (0.4 to 0.5) | 4.7 (4.3 to 5.0) | 0.5 (0.4 to 0.6) | 7.9 (6.9 to 8.9) | 0.3 (0.1 to 0.5) | 4.2 (4.1 to 4.4) | 0.4 (0.4 to 0.5) |
| NSSH thoughts | 23.8 (23.3 to 24.3) | 9.7 (9.3 to 10.0) | 20.7 (20.3 to 21.2) | 7.7 (7.3 to 8.1) | 20.9 (19.4 to 22.5) | 6.4 (5.5 to 7.4) | 22.6 (22.3 to 23.0) | 8.8 (8.6 to 9.1) |
| NSSH | 20.0 (19.5 to 20.4) | 4.6 (4.4 to 4.8) | 19.2 (18.5 to 19.8) | 3.3 (3.1 to 3.6) | 19.1 (18.5 to 19.7) | 2.0 (1.5 to 2.6) | 19.6 (19.3 to 20.0) | 4.1 (3.9 to 4.2) |
| Women, % (95% CI) | ||||||||
| Suicidal thoughts | 20.9 (20.4 to 21.5) | 7.0 (6.7 to 7.4) | 23.7 (22.9 to 24.5) | 7.8 (7.3 to 8.3) | 27.8 (25.7 to 29.9) | 7.4 (6.1 to 8.6) | 22.1 (21.7 to 22.6) | 7.3 (7.0 to 7.6) |
| Suicide attempts | 4.1 (3.8 to 4.3) | 0.5 (0.4 to 0.5) | 5.4 (4.9 to 5.8) | 0.5 (0.4 to 0.6) | 9.1 (7.7 to 10.4) | 0.2 (0.0 to 0.5) | 4.7 (4.5 to 4.9) | 0.5 (0.4 to 0.5) |
| NSSH thoughts | 28.1 (27.5 to 28.7) | 11.6 (11.2 to 12.0) | 25.0 (24.4 to 25.6) | 9.6 (9.0 to 10.1) | 23.4 (21.4 to 25.4) | 6.9 (5.7 to 8.1) | 26.9 (26.5 to 27.4) | 10.7 (10.4 to 11.1) |
| NSSH | 23.7 (23.2 to 24.3) | 5.4 (5.1 to 5.7) | 23.9 (23.0 to 24.7) | 4.2 (3.8 to 4.6) | 21.1 (20.3 to 21.9) | 2.4 (1.7 to 3.1) | 23.6 (23.2 to 24.1) | 4.9 (4.7 to 5.1) |
| Men, % (95% CI) | ||||||||
| Suicidal thoughts | 16.6 (15.8 to 17.4) | 6.6 (6.1 to 7.1) | 19.6 (18.5 to 20.6) | 6.8 (6.2 to 7.5) | 26.6 (23.7 to 29.5) | 7.2 (5.5 to 8.9) | 18.3 (17.7 to 18.9) | 6.7 (6.3 to 7.1) |
| Suicide attempts | 2.6 (2.3 to 2.9) | 0.4 (0.3 to 0.5) | 3.3 (2.8 to 3.8) | 0.4 (0.3 to 0.6) | 4.8 (3.4 to 6.2) | 0.2 (−0.1 to 0.5) | 3.0 (2.7 to 3.3) | 0.4 (0.3 to 0.5) |
| NSSH thoughts | 12.7 (12.0 to 13.4) | 4.6 (4.2 to 5.0) | 12.6 (11.9 to 13.3) | 4.2 (3.7 to 4.8) | 15.6 (13.2 to 18.0) | 5.0 (3.6 to 6.4) | 12.8 (12.3 to 13.4) | 4.5 (4.2 to 4.8) |
| NSSH | 10.1 (9.5 to 10.7) | 2.5 (2.2 to 2.8) | 10.3 (9.5 to 11.1) | 1.7 (1.3 to 2.0) | 14.5 (13.6 to 15.4) | 0.9 (0.3 to 1.5) | 10.4 (9.9 to 10.9) | 2.1 (1.9 to 2.3) |
| Prevalence ratiosa | ||||||||
| Suicidal thoughts | 1.26 | 1.07 | 1.21 | 1.14 | 1.05 | 1.02 | 1.21 | 1.09 |
| Suicide attempts | 1.56 | 1.14 | 1.61 | 1.12 | 1.88 | 1.04 | 1.57 | 1.13 |
| NSSH thoughts | 2.21 | 2.52 | 1.99 | 2.26 | 1.50 | 1.38 | 2.10 | 2.39 |
| NSSH | 2.35 | 2.18 | 2.31 | 2.50 | 1.46 | 2.67 | 2.27 | 2.33 |
| Women versus men, OR (95% CI) | ||||||||
| Suicidal thoughts | 1.33 (1.25 to 1.42) | 1.08 (0.98 to 1.19) | 1.28 (1.18 to 1.39) | 1.15 (1.02 to 1.31) | 1.06 (0.89 to 1.28) | 1.02 (0.75 to 1.39) | 1.27 (1.21 to 1.33) | 1.10 (1.02 to 1.19) |
| Suicide attempts | 1.59 (1.37 to 1.84) | 1.15 (0.78 to 1.68) | 1.64 (1.39 to 1.96) | 1.12 (0.69 to 1.82) | 1.97 (1.39 to 2.79) | 1.04 (0.19 to 5.69) | 1.61 (1.45 to 1.79) | 1.14 (0.85 to 1.53) |
| NSSH thoughts | 2.68 (2.50 to 2.88) | 2.72 (2.44 to 3.02) | 2.32 (2.12 to 2.55) | 2.40 (2.07 to 2.78) | 1.65 (1.34 to 2.04) | 1.40 (0.99 to 2.00) | 2.52 (2.39 to 2.65) | 2.55 (2.35 to 2.78) |
| NSSH | 2.78 (2.57 to 3.00) | 2.25 (1.94 to 2.61) | 2.72 (2.47 to 3.01) | 2.57 (2.04 to 3.23) | 1.58 (1.27 to 1.97) | 2.71 (1.26 to 5.80) | 2.65 (2.50 to 2.80) | 2.39 (2.12 to 2.70) |
a. A prevalence ratio >1 means that women are more likely to report the thought/behaviour, with a prevalence ratio <1 indicating that men are more likely to report the thought/behaviour.