Citation

Wong PWC, Caine ED, Lee CKM, Beautrais A, Yip PSF. Soc. Psychiatry Psychiatr. Epidemiol. 2014; 49(2): 211-219.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s00127-013-0743-6

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

PURPOSE: Jumping from a height is the most common method for suicide in Hong Kong and other urban cities, but it remains understudied locally and internationally. We used Coroner records in exploring the ecological factors associated with these deaths and the personal characteristics of persons who jumped to their death (hereafter, "jumping suicides"). We compared suicides by jumping with all other suicides and examined the suicides that occurred at ten different jumping sites.

METHODS: The Coroner's files of all suicides in Hong Kong from 2002 to 2007 included 6,125 documented deaths.

RESULTS: 2,964 (48.4 %) involved jumping during the study period. Eighty-three percent (83 %) of suicide jumps occurred in residential buildings, and of these, 61% occurred from the decedent's own home. Jumping suicides differed from non-jumping suicides in terms of their socio-demographic characteristics (e.g., for male: 60.8 vs. 67.3 % of jumping suicide and non-jumping suicides, p < 0.0001) and the presence of physical illness (44.4 vs. 42.7 % for jumping and non-jumping suicides, p < 0.0001). While statistically significant, these differences are relatively modest. In contrast, 40.7 documented illnesses vs. 23.1 % for jumping and non-jumping suicides (p < 0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS: Means restriction is a key strategy for suicide prevention. Installation of physical barriers, one of the mean restriction strategies, at common places for suicide has strong evidence to avert suicides without substitution effects. There seems to be challenges to implement physical barriers to prevent residential jumping suicides. Simply applying physical barriers to preclude jumping in Hong Kong appears to be difficult given its ubiquitous "high-rise" residential dwellings. Hence, we also need to develop alternative strategies aimed at preventing people from becoming suicidal. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

Language: en

Keywords

Humans; Adult; Female; Male; Middle Aged; Socioeconomic Factors; adult; human; Cause of Death; suicide; Suicide; female; male; epidemiology; Hong Kong; Coroners and Medical Examiners; cause of death; psychology; Jumping; socioeconomics; middle aged; coroner; Altitude; statistics and numerical data; altitude; Access to suicide means; Case record study; Coroner court file; Residential suicides; Suicides by jumping