Suicide rates in people of South Asian origin in England and Wales

A notable finding in McKenzie et al's study1 of suicide rates in people of South Asian origin is that the high relative rates in younger Asian women reported in previous research studies are found in the 1993–98 data-set but not that for 1999–2003, which shows high relative rates for Asian women over 65. In discussing their results, the investigators acknowledge potential problems with the study's methodology, including the numerator (how well the SANGRA name recognition algorithm ascertains individuals of South Asian origin in more recent samples) and denominator (the validity of a linear interpolation of numbers over their period). However, perhaps cautions are required with respect to the overall robustness of the SANGRA algorithm and the issue of numerator/denominator compatibility: the numerator uses an operational definition of ethnicity (derived from name information) and the denominator is based on self-assignment by individuals to census categories.