Gender differences in suicide attempters: a retrospective study of precipitating factors for suicide attempts at a critical emergency unit in Japan

BMC Psychiatry

Yoshiro Okubo²  Takuya Saito³  Yasushi Otaka²  Yoshitaka Kawashima¹  Ryuichiro Narishige² 

[1] Department of Neuropsychopharmacology, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, 4-1-1 Ogawahigashi-cho, Kodaira-shi, Tokyo, Japan;Department of Neuropsychiatry, Nippon Medical School, 1-1-5 Sendagi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8603, Japan;Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, North 15, West 7, Kita-ku, Sapporo-shi, Japan

关键词: Critical care medical center;    Gender differences;    Precipitating factors for suicides;    Suicide attempters;   

Others  :  1123577
DOI  :  10.1186/1471-244X-14-144

 received in 2014-01-18, accepted in 2014-05-13,  发布年份 2014

【 摘 要 】

Background

There is a shortage of empirical data concerning precipitating factors for suicides in Japan. The purpose of the present study was to clarify gender differences of precipitating factors for suicide attempts in Japan.

Methods

The subjects were high-lethality suicide attempters who were admitted to the Nippon Medical School Hospital Critical Care Medical Center between March 1, 2010 and March 31, 2012. Precipitating factors for suicide attempt, method of suicide attempt, psychiatric diagnoses and other sociodemographic data were collected from the patients’ medical records retrospectively, and statistical analyses were performed for categorical variables of male/female.

Results

The total number of subjects was 193 (88 males and 105 females). The rate of subjects attempting suicide by poisonous gas was significantly higher in males while that of subjects attempting suicide by drug overdose was significantly higher in females. The rate of subjects diagnosed with “major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder” was significantly higher in males while that of subjects diagnosed with “personality disorders” or “dysthymic disorder” was significantly higher in females. Subjects with “health problems”, “financial problems”, “work problems”, “debts (others)” or “unwanted transfer” were significantly more numerous among males; subjects with “family problems”, “parent–child relations” or “loneliness” were significantly more frequently found among females.

Conclusions

Mental disorders were the most common precipitating factor for suicide attempts regardless of gender. Significant gender differences were observed in psychiatric diagnoses, methods of suicide attempt and psychosocial problems. This indicates the necessity of suicide prevention measures corresponding to these gender differences.

【 授权许可】

   
2014 Narishige et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

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