suicide rate in china

suicide rate in china. According to Sainsbury suicide rates peak around 65-75 years of age for males in industrialized countries and a decade or so earlier for women. In bothcases this coincides with the time when the individual'sprimary role in society is declining. Most countries follow this pattern of increasing suicide with age,but there are exceptions resulting primarily from strong cultural differences. For example, in a study of suicide in Jordan covering the years from 1980 to 1985,the highest rate among males fell in the 25-34 age range (3.73 per 100,000) and among females in the15-24 age range (3.38 per 100,000). The rates formales and females over the age of 65 were 2.58 and 2.06per 100,000, respectively, above average but still below other age groups. The author suggests that low rates of suicide among the elderly were due to the strong extended family system that protects them against social isolation, which is often cited as a risk factor for suicide among the elderly.

suicide rate in china. Several studies from Asia confirm that suicide ratesare generally higher among the elderly than among younger age groups. In a study of Sri Lankan suicidedata, rates climbed sharply after age 44. Males65-74 years old had a suicide rate of 60 per 100,000,which jumped to 129 per 100,000 for those over 75years old. For females aged 65-74 the rate was 14 per100,000 and 24 for those over 75. The generally highrates of suicide in Sri Lanka may be due to long termand widespread social unrest. In Fiji, one study found that elderly men were killing themselves at increasing rates at least in part because some had been rejectedby their families after their economic usefulness hadde clined and could expect only to live in homes for thedestitute elderly.

suicide rate in china. In addition to the variation in suicide rates based onage, rates also differ with regard to sex. Suicide rates are generally higher among males than females worldwide. Lester observed the lowest male/female suicide ratio (mean of 1.35) in a sample of Asian nations in comparison to countries in other regions. Infact, the observation that suicide rates are higher throughout the world for men than for women is defied perhaps only by China. Some recent analyses, basedon limited data, revealed a high suicide rate among women in China, and in a study by Lester the female rate (20.4 per 100,000) actually surpassed the male rate (14.9 per 100,000) by a fair margin. Suicide rates among Chinese women peak over age 60, and the highest rate (over 90 per 100,000) occurs at the age of80. Li and Baker cite poverty, long-term disease and the decrease of traditional family relationships as possible factors contributing to the very high rates in old age.