Attempted suicide among swedish-born people and foreign-born migrants

The present study focuses on 938 suicide attempts by Swedes and foreign-born people living in the catchment area of Lund University Hospital between 1991 and 1994. Foreign-born women older than 74 years of age had the highest rates for attempted suicide. Foreign-born women and men aged 45-54 years had two and three times higher rates for suicide attempt respectively than Swedes in the same age group. When adjusted for age, foreign-born people had a higher Incidence Density Ratio (IDR) for attempted suicide than Swedish-born people (IDR = 1.72, CI = 1.45-2.03). People living alone had a much higher risk of suicide attempt than those who were married (IDR = 3.13, CI = 2.69-3.65). The conclusion of the present article is that, when adjusted for age, foreign-born migrants have a higher risk of attempted suicide than Swedish-born people.