Assisted suicides more common in women, wealthy and non-religious: study

Assisted suicide is more common in women, as well as divorced, educated, wealthy or non-religious individuals, a new study by Swiss researchers found.

The researchers based their findings on data provided by three right-to-die organizations. Included in the information were more than 5 million people, aged between 25 and 94, and a total of 1,301 cases of assisted suicide carried out between 2003 and 2008.

The researchers found that, except for Parkinson's disease, assisted suicides were more common in women compared to men as well as for those coming from wealthier families and urban areas. Higher rates were also noted for French-speaking areas, compared to German- or Italian-speaking areas of the country.

The majority of the people between the ages of 25 and 64 who committed assisted suicides had cancer (57 percent), followed by diseases of the nervous system (21 percent). Eleven individuals were identified with mood disorders while three had other mental or behavioral disorders.

Among those between the ages of 65 and 94, cancer was again the most common underlying cause (41 percent), followed by circulatory diseases (15 percent) and diseases of the nervous system (11 percent). Thirty people had a mood disorder, and six had another mental or behavioral disorder.

"Our study is relevant to the debate on a possibly disproportionate number of assisted suicides among vulnerable groups," Matthias Egger, the lead author of the study, said in a statement. "The higher rates among the better educated and those living in neighborhoods of higher socio-economic standing do not support the 'slippery slope' argument but might reflect inequities in access to assisted suicide."

He added: "Social isolation and loneliness are well known risk factors for non-assisted suicides and our results suggest that they may also play a role in assisted suicide."

In contrast, recent studies carried out in the Netherlands and United States found that men were more likely to opt for assisted suicide than women.