The Underrecording of Suicides in State & National Records, Alaska, 1983-1984

To evaluate the accuracy of state & national suicide statistics for Alaska, the authors searched both state & national vital statistics records for suicide in Alaska in 1983-84. Of 195 deaths meeting their case definition of suicide, only 72% appeared in state records & only 57% in the national records. Native suicides were more likely to be underrecorded than non-native suicides. Errors resulted primarily from delayed determinations of the cause of death & failure to update the records. (GW)