An epidemiological profile of elderly suicides in Hong Kong

✍ Scribed by Paul S. F. Yip; I. Chi; K. K. Yu

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1998
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 154 KB
• Volume: 13
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0885-6230
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1099-1166(199809)13:9<631::aid-gps836>3.0.co;2-a

✦ Synopsis

Suicide rates in Hong Kong increased with age, and the highest suicide rate occurred among the oldest age groups. Hong Kong has one of the highest elderly suicide rates in the world. The elderly suicide rate was four to ®ve times above the average. Furthermore, gender dierences were observed among dierent marital status groups. For example, single males had a much higher rate than single females and married males had a higher rate than their widowed counterparts. The suicide rate for an economically inactive person was six times higher than for an active one. Jumping has become increasingly common and seems to substitute for other methods of suicide. Winter months and the Chinese New Year period had the lowest suicide occurrence. Some explanations are given.