A Re-Assessment of Suicide Measurement: Some Comparative PYLL-Based Trends, Queensland, 1920-2005

We reconsider conventional suicide measurement. First, a headcount of suicide is\ud examined relative to some other causes of death (circulatory diseases, cancer, and motor\ud vehicle accidents). We then construct a time-series data set of an alternative measure of\ud suicide, the potential years of life lost (PYLL) for males and females. Suicide PYLLs\ud average 4.57%of all male PYLLs and 2.44%of female PYLLs for 1907–2005.\ud The comparable ‘‘count’’ percentages are 1.85 and 0.65, respectively. These differences\ud are widening through time. In 2005, suicide represented 3.25% of all male deaths\ud and 0.90% of female deaths using the count measure and, using PYLLs,\ud 11.0% and 4.96%, respectively. The two measures produce quite different indications\ud of suicide