Epidemiology of suicide pacts in England and Wales, 1988-92

Objective: To describe the epidemiology of suicide pacts in England and Wales Design: Analysis of the death certificates and coroners' records of all people who died in pacts between 1 January 1988 and 31 December 1992. Subjects: 124 people who committed suicide in 62 pacts. Results: Suicide in a pact accounted for 0.6% of all suicides (124/19 721), a rate of 0.6 per million people aged 15 and over. Forty eight pacts were between married couples and five were between family members. The mean age was 56 years. 99 of the 124 subjects were of occupational social classes I-III. Poisoning by car exhaust fumes and drugs accounted for 116 deaths, with both members of each pair using the same method. Conclusions: Suicide pacts are rare and less common than they were 35 years ago, although the epidemiological profile is similar. People who commit suicide in a pact are more likely than those who commit suicide alone to be female, older, married, and of a high social class. Key messages Death in a suicide pact is a rare event but often attracts extensive media attention Suicide pacts have not been studied systematically in the United kingdom for over 35 years The rate of suicide pacts in England and Wales from 1988-92 was about one each month The rate has declined over the past 35 years, despite increasing interest in euthanasia People who die in a suicide pact are more likely than people who commit suicide alone to be older, married, female, and of high social class