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Ulster 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ researchers have called for a national database on suicides to discover why people take their own lives and monitor the effectiveness of measures to stop them.

Tara Moore, course director for forensic and legal medicine, and Edward Goodall, a biostatistician, say there must be stringent control or even a ban on websites that support or encourage suicide, with more professional support services to help save the lives of those contemplating suicide.

Their survey found that almost half the recorded suicides were committed by someone who was unemployed, and in more than 40 per cent of cases, the victim had been previously diagnosed with depression. They also found that July was a peak time for suicide.