Abstract
Purpose
Countries with Muslim populations report relatively lower rates of suicide. However, authors have noted methodological flaws in the data. This study examined reliable rates of completed suicide, suicide ideation, planning and attempts among Muslims as compared to Jews in Israel.
Methods
For completed suicide, information was extracted from death certificates (2003–2007); the National Emergency Room Admissions Database (NERAD) provided data on suicide attempts (2003–2007); and the Israel National Health Survey (INHS) (2003–2004) was used for self reports on lifetime suicide ideation, planning and attempts.
Results
Completed suicide rates among Muslim-Israelis (3.0 per 100,000) were lower compared to Jewish-Israelis (8.2 per 100,000). Based on NERAD, attempted suicide rates among men were lower for Muslims compared to Jews, while among women aged 15–44 no differences were found. In the INHS, the rate of self-reported lifetime suicide attempts was significantly higher among Muslims (2.8%) compared to Jews (1.2%), while lifetime prevalence rates of suicide ideation (6.6%) and planning (2.1%) in Muslims did not differ from Jews (5.2 and 1.9%, respectively).
Conclusions
Conceivably, the lower rate of completed suicide among Muslim-Israelis might be explained by the strenuous proscription of suicide by the Koran. However, its extension to suicide attempts is equivocal: attempts were higher among Muslims than among Jews according to self-reports but lower in the NERAD records. Social pressures exerted on the reporting agents may bias the diagnosis of self-harm in both the latter data source and in the death certificates.
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Notes
Rates are according to the most recent year for each country.
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Acknowledgments
The Israel National Health Survey is funded by the Ministry of Health with support from the Israel National Institute for Health Policy and Health Services Research and the National Insurance Institute of Israel. The Israel Health Survey is carried out in conjunction with the World Health Organization World Mental Health (WMH) Survey Initiative. We thank the WMH staff for assistance with instrumentation, fieldwork, and data analysis. These activities were supported by the United States National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH070884, MH077883), the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Pfizer Foundation, the US Public Health Service (R13-MH066849, R01-MH069864, and R01 DA016558), the Fogarty International Center (FIRCA R03-TW006481), the Pan American Health Organization, the Eli Lilly & Company Foundation, Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc., GlaxoSmithKline, and Bristol-Myers Squibb. A complete list of WMH publications can be found at http://www.hcp.med.harvard.edu/wmh/.
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Gal, G., Goldberger, N., Kabaha, A. et al. Suicidal behavior among Muslim Arabs in Israel. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 47, 11–17 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-010-0307-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-010-0307-y