In Sri Lanka, elderly males face a higher risk of suicide as the elderly population (age 65 years or above) is found to substantially factor in the country's overall suicide rate.

These findings were made in an oral presentation on the ‘The trends in suicide deaths in the elderly population in Sri Lanka from 2005 to 2015’ which was authored by E.M.K.B. Ekanayake (attached to the Peradeniya University's Forensic Medicine Department) and D.A. Gunawardane (attached to the same University's Community Medicine Department) and presentation made at the 29th Annual Academic Sessions of the College of Community Physicians of Sri Lanka and published in the 30th Volume of the Journal of the College, this month (August). 

Suicide rates increase with age and reach their highest levels in the oldest age groups, which presents a significant public health concern with population ageing. Sri Lanka is a country with a growing ageing population.

Data on suicidal deaths between 2005 and 2015 were obtained from published data from the Department of Census and Statistics. 

The mortality rate (per a population of 100,000) due to suicides after the age of 65 years in Sri Lanka was reduced from 50.1 in 2005 to 30.3 in 2015, while the elderly population increased by 33% during the same period. There is a constant increase in the proportion of elderly suicides among suicides in all age groups during the study period. Nearly 20% of suicidal deaths that occurred in 2015 were among the elderly population. Being of the male sex correlates to a higher suicidal risk, with a male to female ratio of 4.44:one among the elderly population.

With a growing ageing population, Sri Lanka needs to prioritise suicide prevention efforts targeting this demographic, Ekanayake et al. recommended.