Call for action after suicide study reveals alcohol link

More than a quarter of Kiwi suicides involve acute alcohol use.

The findings of a University of Otago, Christchurch study show that of the 4658 suicides of people aged 15 and over between July 2007 and December 2020, 1238 (26.6 per cent) involved heavy alcohol intake.

And those involved in the study have called for the level of acute alcohol-related deaths — defined as a blood alcohol concentration of greater than 50 milligrams per 100 millilitres of blood (the legal driving limit for adults) — to lead to changes to both the Sale and Supply of Liquor Act, as well as New Zealand’s approach to suicide prevention.

Lead author Dr Rose Crossin — from the Department of Population Health on Otago’s Christchurch campus — said the findings were alarming.

That included how New Zealand’s rate of suicide deaths involving alcohol was 7 per cent higher than the World Health Organisation’s global estimate of 19 per cent.

She said they should also result in a government-level response.

“It’s abundantly clear we have a major public health problem in Aotearoa New Zealand with alcohol use now established as a significant risk factor for suicide in this country.

“Action is now urgently needed to acknowledge the problem and remedy the immense harm being caused,” Crossin said.

The study, published today in the

New Zealand Medical Journal, is believed to be the first time coronial data has been used in NZ to quantify the link between suicide deaths and acute alcohol use population-wide.

Co-author Professor Joe Boden, from the University of Otago, Christchurch’s Department of Psychological Medicine, said given the results, steps to reduce alcohol harm should be made to New Zealand’s national Suicide Prevention Strategy.

“The fact New Zealand’s national Suicide Prevention Strategy fails to specifically target alcohol is a major missed opportunity for suicide prevention efforts,” Boden said.

“These findings make it clear that specific interventions focusing on reducing alcohol harm are both sorely and urgently needed.”

The study, using data from the National Coronial Information System, showed there was no difference of association between acute alcohol use and suicide in males and females.

The association between acute alcohol use and suicide was higher for those aged 15-54, with a lower association in older age groups.

Māori (32.3 per cent) and Pasifika peoples (35.3 per cent) recorded higher proportions of suicides involving acute alcohol use than European (25.4 per cent) and Asian ethnicities (11.9 per cent).

Despite numerous educational campaigns and repeated legislative changes, the proportion of suicide deaths involving alcohol has remained consistent since 2007.

As of June 2021, NZ had 11.6 suicides per 100,000 people. And other studies have shown 20 per cent of the population aged over 15 say they drink to hazardous levels.

Boden said the potential link between high alcohol intake and negative thoughts could be devastating. “Being acutely affected by alcohol increases a person’s risk of suicide, as alcohol use results in disinhibition, impulsivity, impaired decision making, aggression and increased feelings of despair,” he said.