The Relationship between Suicide,Undetermined Deaths and Accidental Deaths in the Australian Born and Migrants in Australia

Abstract

Australian data pertaining to Suicide and Accidental Deaths (I.C.D.7) for the years 1962-69 are compared with those for suicide, undetermined deaths and accidental deaths (I.C.D.8) for 1968-71, specific for country of birth. The data strongly suggest that deaths classified as ‘undetermined’ after the introduction of that I.C.D. category in 1968, had been classified as accidental prior to that data, especially deaths from poisoning. There was some differential between the Australian and U.K. born and the European born. It was estimated that Australian suicide rates are possibly underestimated by 5–10% for males, and 10–20% for females by categorising some deaths from poisoning as being undetermined or accidental.