Citation

Gulbinat WH. Arch. Suicide Res. 1996; 2(1): 31-42.

Affiliation

World Health Organization, CH-1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1996, International Academy of Suicide Research, Publisher Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The World Health Organization maintains a data bank on suicide motality into which 97 of the Organization's 166 Member States report data in accordance with the ICD. This paper examines the rates and trends of suicide in old age. It is observed that suicide trends vary tremendously among countries. Countries with an increase in old age suicide out number those with a decrease by ratios between 2:1 (Europe) and 5:1 (Asia). Sex differences vary, the median male/female ratios vary considerably among continents, from 1.8 in Asia to 11.5 in the Americas. Overall, despite its variations, it can be concluded that suicide in old age is characterized as follows: It is a phenomenon to be observed in all reporting countries, it is 2 to 12 times higher in males than in females, it is up to 7 times higher than adolescents suicide, and the order of magnitude of these indices are consistent over time.