Centre for Policy on Ageing



Suicide among Hispanic elderly: Cuban Americans in Dade County, Florida 1990-1993
Author(s)	Maria D Llorente, Carl Eisdorfer, David A Loewenstein
Journal title	Journal of Mental Health and Aging, vol 2, no 2, Summer/Fall 1996
Pages	pp 79-88
Keywords	Suicide ; Older men ; Older women ; Immigrants ; Ethnic groups ; United States of America.
Annotation	Suicide rates in the United States (US) are reported to be highest among older men, however, little is known about suicide in Hispanic older people. The aim of this study was to examine suicide among older Cuban-Americans and compare known risk factors for suicide with an American-born group that also committed suicide. Files of persons aged 65 years and over were reviewed and analysed. Rates of suicide per 100,000 were as follows: Cuban males 66; American males 39.6; Cuban females 9.0; American females 6.2. The Cubans differed with respect to lower educational level, greater presence of support system and equal likelihood of hanging or gunshot wound as method of choice. Older Cuban males had a rate of suicide 1.67 times higher than older Americans. The study concluded that better recognition of and prompt referral for treatment of depression may be an important intervention in preventing suicide in older Hispanics. (AKM).
Accession Number	CPA-980515210 A
Classmark	EV: BC: BD: TJ: TK: 7T
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.