Men are now THREE times more likely to commit suicide than women - and is the recession to blame?



Ratio between men and women is now the highest it has been for 30 years

In 2012, 4,590 male suicides were registered, compared with 1,391 female

Men aged 40-44 are the most at risk, perhaps because they feel the i r careers have been stalled by the recession, it has been suggested

Men are now three times more likely than women to commit suicide, official figures have revealed.

The ratio between men and women is now the highest it has been for 30 years, according to the latest Office for National Statistics report.

The figures show that in 2012, 5,981 people aged 15 and over committed suicide in the UK - 64 few er than in 2 011 .



There were 4,590 male s uicides registered, com pared with 1,39 1 female.

Male suicide rates in 2012 were more than three times higher at 18.2 male deaths. This is compared with 5.2 female deaths per 100,000 population

When data began to be recorded in 1981, the male suicide rate was 1.9 times higher than in women.



And young men are no longer the group of society most at risk of suicide.



Instead, it is men aged 40-44 who are most at risk, perhaps because they feel the i r careers have been stalled by the recession, it has been suggested.

Suicide is also the leading cause of death for men aged 20-34 years and also in the 35-49 category, according to the report.

But the total number of men aged between 45 and 59 taking their own lives was almost 40 per cent higher in 2012 than it was less than a decade earlier.

One theory is that the decline of industry in the Thatcher era of the late 1980s and early 1990s sparked changes that affected families forever - putting men born in the 1950s and 1960s at risk.



The figures came as a study to investigate the impact of the internet on suicide was launched, following high-profile cases such as Tallulah Wilson, who visited self-harm sites

Professor Rory O’Connor, a Glasgow University psychologist and leading authority on suicide, told The Telegraph there appeared to be a 'generational effect' which explained the previous high suicide rate in young men and now those in middle age.



Clare Wyllie, head of policy and research at Samaritans, said: 'The rates of suicide in men increase over the age of 35, which is why Samaritans, in partnership with Network Rail, have launched We're in Your Corner a campaign aimed at reaching men in med-life.



'Men in the lowest socio-economic group living in the most deprived areas are approximately 10 times more likely to die by suicide than men from higher socio-economic backgrounds, living in the most affluent areas.

'There have been a number of significant changes in society over the last 50 years, including gender roles, families and patterns of social relationships and the decline of traditionally male industries.



'Our research shows that disadvantaged men in mid-life have seen their jobs, relationships and identity, radically altered.



'There is a large gap between the reality of life and the masculine ideal, for this group of men. They are likely to experience multiple risk factors for suicide which taken together can have devastating consequences.'

Previous research has also indicated that men find it more difficult to talk about their feelings and are more likely to turn to risky behaviour when they are depressed.



The figures came as a study to investigate the impact of the internet on suicide was launched.

Researchers at the University of Bristol will carry out the 'groundbreaking' project with the Samaritans to determine the role the internet plays for those with suicidal thoughts.

Their work will be the first study to involve talking to people with experience of going online when they were feeling suicidal.

After her daughter's inquest, Tallulah's mother demanded action against the 'toxic digital world' of the internet that glamorises suicide and self-harm

A number of suicides, including that of gifted dancer Tallulah Wilson, 15, in 2012, have been linked to self-harm and suicide-related websites and social networking forums.

Last month, Sarah Wilson, the mother of Tallulah, from West Hampstead, north-west London, urged parents to be aware of the dangers of the internet.

Speaking following Tallulah’s inquest at St Pancras Coroner’s Court, Mrs Wilson said her daughter was “in the clutches of a toxic digital world” when she was killed by a train.



Mrs Wilson, in a statement issued outside the court, she was 'shocked by the ease with which Tallulah and other children can access online self-harm and suicide blogs'.

