Robin rises suicide toll

SUICIDE rates in the US spiked almost 10 per cent following the death in 2014 of actor Robin Williams, according to a study.

The study, published in scientific journal PLOS One, found that in the five months from August to December 2104 about 18,690 deaths by suicide were recorded – an increase of 9.85 per cent from the expected number of cases for the period.

Williams died in August 2014 at age 63 in a suicide that shocked fans worldwide.