The article analyzes the available statistical data on the levels and coefficients of the causes of death in Ukraine according to the information of the State Statistics Service of Ukraine in the period from 2005 to 2021, among which special attention that is paid to intentional self-harm (suicide) and
cases of injuries with undetermined intent. Statistical categories and signs are described, according to which data are collected on cases of death from intentional self-harm in Ukraine. A partial comparison of these indicators with the indicators of other countries, in particular, the USA and the countries of the European Union, was carried out.
An analysis of the dynamics of changes in the levels of registered suicides and deaths due to injuries with an undetermined intent was carried out. The unreasonableness of the excessive fluctuation of the indicator of the coefficient of deaths due to cases of injury with an uncertain intention is emphasized. For the first time, superimposition of data patterns in the categories of percentage distribution of age groups was applied, after which an analysis of the obtained results was carried out to determine the correlation using the Pearson coefficient. A comparison of death rates from deliberate self-harm was made with other categories of causes of death, including accidental drowning and submersion and accidental poisoning by other toxic substances. Additional statistical anomalies related to indicators of suicide rates and cases of injuries with undetermined intent are mentioned, in particular, regionally in Ukraine. The position that the revealed results allow us to assert the unreliability of open statistical data on the levels of suicides in Ukraine, as well as the position that cases of death due to intentional self-harm in Ukraine may be characterized by a high level of latency because of their qualification as deaths due to cases of injuries with an undetermined intent., is substantiated.
- Derzhstat Ukrainy [State Statistics Service of Ukraine]. (2021). Letter №15.1.3-22/359Пі-22, 14.06.2021.
- Derzhstat Ukrainy [State Statistics Service of Ukraine]. (2022). Data bank. Retrieved October 19, 2022, from http://db.ukrcensus.gov.ua/MULT/Dialog/statfile_c.asp
- Natsionalna politsiia Ukrainy [National police of Ukraine]. (2022). Letter № 228зі/27/01/2-2022, 21.11.2022.
- Rynhach, N. (2022). Chastka smertei, klasyfikovanykh yak vypadky z nedostatno chitko vyznachenymy prychynamy, yak kharakterystyka yakosti danykh shchodo smertnosti v Ukraini [The share of deaths classified as cases with insufficiently well-defined causes as a characteristic of the quality of mortality data in Ukraine]. Statistics of Ukraine. 2022 (1 (96)), 90-99.
- Björkenstam, C., Ringbäck Weitoft, G., Lindqvist, P., & Rosén, M. (2014). Suicide or undetermined intent? A register-based study of signs of misclassification. Population Health Metrics, 12(1), 1-11.
- Hedegaard, H., & Warner, M. (2021). Evaluating the cause-of-death information needed for estimating the burden of injury mortality: United States, 2019. National Vital Statistics Reports: From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System, 70(13), 1-23.
- The World Bank. (2022). Suicide mortality rate (per 100,000 population). Retrieved February 21, 2022, from https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.STA.SUIC.P5
- Värnik, P., Sisask, M., Värnik, A., Arensman, E., Van Audenhove, C., van der Feltz-Cornelis, C. M., ... & Hegerl, U. (2010). Massive increase in injury deaths of undetermined intent in ex-USSR Baltic and Slavic countries: Hidden suicides? Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 38 (4), 395-403.
- Wasserman, D. (Ed.). (2021). Oxford Textbook of Suicidology and Suicide Prevention. OUP Oxford.
- World Health Organization. (2022). SDR, Events of undetermined intent, per 100 000.