Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology
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Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol · Apr 2008
Suicide by charcoal burning in Taiwan: implications for means substitution by a case-linkage study.
This study estimated the incidence of suicide mortality among suicide attempters in Taiwan and assessed the extent of means substitution among subjects with a non-fatal attempt and a subsequent fatal attempt during the study period. ⋯ Persons who attempt suicide by charcoal burning are a high-risk group for completed suicide. Those who burned charcoal in a suicide attempt were likely to use the same method in a later lethal attempt, and charcoal burning was a frequent cause of death among those who used different methods in earlier attempts. Charcoal burning should be a target for suicide prevention efforts.
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The answer to the question whether suicide rates are higher in urban than in rural areas may have changed over the years. This study analyzes the longitudinal trends of rural and urban suicides in Austria from 1970 to 2005. The most recent decade, 1995-2005 was also investigated cross-sectionally in terms of age groups, gender, suicide methods and family status. ⋯ In line with recent findings from other western countries, we showed a growing gap between rural and urban suicide rates. This suggests a need for rural-specific suicide prevention efforts, especially aimed at the male rural population.