Citation

Chen YL, Hsiao RC, Chen YY, Yen CF. Asian J. Psychiatry 2023; 84: e103588.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.ajp.2023.103588

PMID

37099924

Abstract

Increasing suicide rates across Asian countries is a public health crisis (Tandon and Nathani, 2018). In Taiwan, the total number of annual suicide death increased from 4092 in 2013 to 4380 in 2019 (Supplementary Table 1). Suicide ranks as the 11th leading cause of death, with an annual suicide rate of 16.4 per 100,000 population in 2019 (Ministry of Health and Welfare, 2020). Although similar to other countries (Tandon, 2021), Taiwan's suicide rate has declined during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic (4077 and 3991 in 2020 and 2021, respectively), an investigation of the high-risk timeframes for suicide would provide a more favorable understanding of when expanding the availability of health-care services would be most effective. Some studies have reported a single peak that occurs in spring or early summer (for example, Hofstra et al., 2018); other studies have reported a two-peak pattern, with one peak occurring in spring and a second, less clearly defined peak occurring in fall (for example, Beauchamp et al., 2014). Most studies have reported that suicide rates are higher on Mondays and lower on weekends (for example, Plöderl, 2021); however, some scholars found suicide to be most common on Sundays (Brådvik, 2002). Research has revealed that a spring peak in suicide occurs only in areas with a moderate climate (Chew and McCleary, 1995) but not occur near the equator (Parker et al., 2001). Taiwan is located at a latitude of 23°58′ N. Studies in Taiwan can provide evidence for the monthly pattern of suicide incidence in the areas with the characteristics of both subtropical and tropical climates. Moreover, examining sex differences in monthly and weekly patterns of suicide can help develop sex-specific prevention programs. This population-based study investigated the monthly and weekly patterns in suicide incidence in Taiwan and the sex-based differences between these patterns by analyzing data regarding the daily number of suicide deaths.

Language: en

Keywords

Suicide; Taiwan; Sex difference