Death by hanging in Western Australia

We present a review of the circumstances and medical findings of 280 fatalities due to hanging in Western Australia (WA) during the 5 yr period 1988-1992. Two hundred and forty one (241) of the cases were examined prospectively; the completed Coroner’s files of a further 39 cases, from rural WA, wer...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Pathology 1995, Vol.27 (3), p.268-272
Main Authors: Cooke, Clive Trevor, Cadden, Gerard Andrew, Margolius, Karin Ann
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accidents, Home
Adolescent
Adult
Age Factors
Asphyxia - epidemiology
Asphyxia - etiology
asphyxiation
Australia - epidemiology
Biological and medical sciences
Cause of Death
Child
Child, Preschool
Continental Population Groups
Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions
Female
Forensic medicine
Hanging
Homicide
Humans
Infant
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Miscellaneous
Prospective Studies
Public health. Hygiene
Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine
Retrospective Studies
Sex Factors
Suicide
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Summary:We present a review of the circumstances and medical findings of 280 fatalities due to hanging in Western Australia (WA) during the 5 yr period 1988-1992. Two hundred and forty one (241) of the cases were examined prospectively; the completed Coroner’s files of a further 39 cases, from rural WA, were examined retrospectively. Most of the 280 deaths were in males (88%), and most were in the age range of 15-35 yrs (56%. Seven cases occurred in children aged 15 or less. There was one homicide, 14 cases thought to be accidental, and 261 suicides; in 4 cases the manner of death could not be determined. In one-third of the cases there was a medical history of a psychiatric condition. The majority occurred in or around the decedent’s home (71%). The most commonly used ligature was a rope (59%). Alcohol was the most commonly detected drug following post mortem analysis (30%). In WA then, there is one hanging death every 6.5 days, the majority being suicides, in men of young adult age, typically occurring in or around the home.
ISSN:0031-3025
1465-3931
DOI:10.1080/00313029500169093