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Abstract
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The mortality rate of suicide has increased among the elderly aged 65 years and above in recent years. This study was conducted to examine the long-term trends in elderly suicide mortality in Taiwan from 1985 to 2006 and to analyze the effects of age, time period, and cohort. Since the elderly population is expected to increase rapidly in Taiwan, the issue of the rising mortality rate among the elderly warrants further investigation.
METHODS: Data used in the analysis were obtained from the Death Certification data file provided by the Department of Health (DOH) from 1985 to 2006 on annual mortality for persons over age 65 with external cause-of-death codes E950-E959 and. Spearman's correlation coefficient and Wilcoxon matched- pair signed-rank test analysis were used to examine the relationship between study year and suicide rate, age, marital status, region as well as method-specific suicide rates for both sexes.
RESULTS: The elderly mortality rate of suicide was 38.84/ 105 (50.78 for male, 27.18 for female) in 2006. From 1985 through 2006, the suicide rate had steadily decreased, but an intriguing reversal has been observed since 1993. The gender ratio among the elderly was 1.69. The mortality rate of suicide rose significantly among those aged 85 years and above. Never married males and windowed females have the highest age -adjusted sex and marital status-specific rates. The modes of suicide changed, with hanging, strangulation, and suffocation most commonly used by bothgenders, but they increased significantly in jumping from a high place and drowning use. Seasonal trends showed a significant peak in April-July. Winter months and the Chinese New Year period had the lowest occurrence. Suicide rates among older Taiwan residents vary by region with the rate increasing in all regions since 1993 expected Penghu, Taoyuan, Kaohsiung, Ilan county. From an age-period-cohort analysis, the age and period were more important determinants than the cohort was.
CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, suicide is a serious issue among the elderly. The public health and social welfare interventions necessary to alleviate this social and human problem cannot be delayed. (Taiwan J Public Health. 2009;28(2):103-114).
Language: zh |