Suicide Related Indicators and Trend of Korea in 2015

Ju, Yeong Jun; Jang, Sung In

Abstract

Suicide is becoming a public health issue in many countries, and even more so in Korea. Korea has the highest suicide rate in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries. To address these issues, we investigated the recent trends in suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among the adult population. We used data from four sources: Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES, "˜2007-2012, "˜2013, "˜2015), Korean Community Health Survey (KCHS, "˜2008-2009, "˜2013), Korean Wealth Panel Study (KOWEPS, "˜2012-2015), and Korea Health Panel Survey (KHP, "˜2010-2013). Weighted frequencies and trend tests were used. The rate of suicidal ideation as recent year was 5.10% (KNHANES, "˜2015), 8.95% (KCHS, "˜2013), 2.34% (KOWEPS, "˜2015), or 5.39% (KHP, "˜2013). Regarding the suicide attempts, the rate of suicide attempts as recent year was 0.61% (KNHANES, "˜2015), 0.41% (KCHS, "˜2013), or 0.04% (KOWEPS, "˜2015). Average percent change of suicidal ideation during survey year was -2.80% (KNHANES, "˜2007-2012), 5.78% (KNHANES, "˜2013-2015), 0.62% (KCHS, "˜2008-2013), -5.63% (KOWEPS, "˜2012-2015), and -10.94% (KHP, "˜2010-2013). Average percent change of suicide attempts during survey year was -3.84% (KNHANES, "˜2007-2012), 4.55% (KNHANES, "˜2013-2015), -2.54% (KCHS, "˜2008-2013), and -18.96% (KOWEPS, "˜2012-2015). Those who had lower income level were more likely to have self-reported suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. Our results suggest that further efforts are needed for more effective intervention to identify and manage low income strata with suicide problem.