Year: 1988 Source: American Journal of Public Health, v.78, no.2, (February 1988), p.179-180 SIEC No: 19880109

A manual review of death certificates & autopsy records identified 195 suicides in Alaska during 1983-84. Native males, 20-24 years old, had the highest rate of suicide (257 per 100,000 person-years). Gunshot wounds caused 76 per cent of all suicide death; 79 per cent of Native & 48 per cent of White suicides had detectable levels of blood alcohol. Suicide by firearms was weakly associated with blood alcohol levels above 100 mg/dl (odds ratio 1.3,95 per cent confidence interval 1.11-1.47).