Report examines Laguna’s suicide rate, methods

For Laguna Beach residents, suicides most often take the form of an overdose of drugs or ingestion of poison, according to an Orange County Health Care Agency report released last week.

Fifty-three percent of Laguna Beach’s 17 suicides from 2009 to 2011 resulted from poisoning or overdose, the greatest percentage of any city covered by the report, titled “Suicide Deaths in Orange County (2009 – 2011).”

While Laguna Beach was well below most other Orange County cities in total number of residents who committed suicide during the three-year span, Dana Point had 15. Anaheim had the most with 72, followed by Huntington Beach with 61. Newport Beach came in at 40.

But the coastal artist colony’s 17 looks worse when adjusted for age and population. That brings its suicide number to 21 for the survey period.

The adjusted rate is found using a system developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It allows cities of different sizes with residents of varying ages to be compared using a standard formula, Health Care Agency spokeswoman Tricia Landquist wrote in an email.

When considering their adjusted suicide rates, Dana Point and Newport Beach tied for second to Laguna at 13.5, the report says.

Huntington Beach had 9.5 adjusted suicide deaths while Anaheim had 7.5, the Health Care Agency’s report says.

Of Laguna’s 17 reported suicide deaths in the survey period, 10 were men and seven were women, Landquist said. The agency gathered data from Orange County coroner’s office investigations, said Landquist, who added that all the deaths were ruled intentional.

The report tracked suicides based on the deceased person’s city of residence, not where he or she died.

Laguna police recorded only seven suicides — none involving poisoning and overdose — from 2009 to 2011, Capt. Jason Kravetz wrote in an email.

“It usually isn’t readily apparent if someone has overdosed” unless evidence is located at the scene, so those types of deaths don’t usually get counted as suicides in police reports, he explained.

Of Laguna Beach police’s seven reported suicides, five were caused by a handgun or rifle and two were hangings, Kravetz said. The average age of the deceased person was 63, Kravetz said.

“Any time someone takes their life, it is a tragedy for the family, friends and even the first responders,” Kravetz said. “I think the report helps point out that suicide has no financial or racial boundaries and affects every segment of our society.

“We will be sharing the information provided by the Health Care Agency with our employees along with any community organizations wishing to review the report.”

Countywide, women are more likely to intentionally injure themselves, most often through poison or drugs, while men are more likely to use firearms and strangulation and are almost three times more likely to be successful in a suicide attempt, according to the report.

The county’s suicide rate was 9 per 100,000 people from 2009 to 2011, lower than California’s 9.9 and the nation’s average of 12. But Orange County’s rate of 9.2 for just 2011 eclipsed 9 for the first time in 10 years, according to the report.

Factors that can place a person at increased suicide risk include mental illness, substance and physical abuse, recent loss of friends or family members, and painful physical illnesses, according to the agency’s report.

Suicide-prevention resources in Orange County include the Suicide Prevention Hotline (877) 727-4747; the (U.S. military) Veterans Crisis Line (800) 273-8255; and OC Links at (855) 625-4657, which provides referrals to all behavioral services within the Health Care Agency.

To view the full report, visit https://www.ochealthinfo.com.