Suicide is a leading cause of death for people aged between five and 24 in Scotland, according to new figures.

Statistics published by Public Health Scotland indicated that a quarter (25.7%) of all deaths among people in the age group were probable suicides.

It is significantly lower than the 1.2% of all deaths among those aged 25 and over.

The suicide rate among those between the ages of five and 24 fell from 8.1 per 100,000 people in 2011 to a low of 4.4 per 100,000 in 2015.

However, it increased to a high of 9.2 per 100,000 people in 2019, with the suicide rate in the over 25 age group following a similar pattern.

Across the age category, suicide was the leading cause of death, making up a greater proportion of lives lost (25.7%) than accidental poisonings (14.1%) and land transport accidents (10.1%).

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