Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42448428›Full record

ArticleBMJ mental health2026

Suicide among older adults in Ireland: a national case series of coronial data, 2015-2020.

M Isabela Troya, Paul Corcoran, Anne M Doherty, Katerina Kavalidou, Caoimhe Lonergan, Faraz Mughal, Ella Arensman, Michael J Norton, Lived Experience Advisory Group

Abstract read
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Article in BMJ mental health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

M Isabela TroyaSchool of Public Health, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland isabela.troya@ucc.ie.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0474-3832
Paul CorcoranSchool of Public Health, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
Anne M DohertyPsychiatry, University College Dublin School of Medicine, Dublin, Ireland.
Katerina KavalidouNational Suicide Research Foundation, Cork, County Cork, Ireland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7394-0293
Caoimhe LonerganDepartment of Psychiatry, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
Faraz MughalNuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Ella ArensmanSchool of Public Health, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
Michael J NortonAdult Continuing Education, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
Lived Experience Advisory Group

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundOlder adults have the highest suicide rates globally, yet contemporary national evidence on suicide in later-life remains limited in Ireland.

objectiveTo examine the rates, sociodemographic and clinical factors of older adults who die by suicide in Ireland.

methodsRetrospective analysis of coronial files of older adults aged ≥60 years who died by suicide in Ireland during 2015-2020, with adults aged 18-59 years as a comparison group. Crude suicide rates per 100 000 were calculated. Differences in sociodemographic and clinical variables were tested using χ

findingsBetween 2015 and 2020, 654 older adults died by suicide. The average suicide rate for older adults was 12.0 per 100 000 compared with 17.5 per 100 000 among adults aged 18-59. However, marked within-group variation existed, with older single males having the highest suicide rate overall (38.1 per 100 000). Among older adults, males aged 60-69 years had the highest rate (21.8 per 100 000). Suicide risk increased during summer, especially among older adults. Rates declined in 2020 in older males. Among individuals who died by suicide, older adults were more likely to be married, live alone and in agricultural and managerial socioeconomic groups compared with adults aged 18-59. Among suicide deaths, older adults were more likely to have physical health conditions, recent acute pain, loneliness and seen their general practitioner (GP). Within the suicide cohort, financial concerns and interpersonal difficulties were more commonly experienced by younger adults. Method profiles differed by age, with drowning and firearm-related suicides higher among older adults.

conclusionsOlder adults who died by suicide in Ireland had distinct sociodemographic and clinical profiles compared with younger adults. While mental health symptoms were common across age groups, later-life suicide was more frequently characterised by physical health conditions, loneliness and recent healthcare contact. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Findings highlight the need for sex-specific and age-specific suicide prevention strategies that address systemic factors, including improved GP training and strengthened community-based services. Increased contact with healthcare services highlights opportunities for intervention.

Indexed as

SuicideAdolescentAdultAgedAged, 80 and overAge FactorsFemaleHumansIrelandMaleMiddle AgedRetrospective StudiesRisk FactorsYoung AdultCommunity Mental Health ServicesMental HealthMental Health Services

Identifiers

PMID42448428
PMCPMC13374407

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.