Suicide rate is up worldwide

By Macon Ramos-Araneta | Posted on September 14, 2012 |

 

The suicide rate among Filipinos has gone up in the last 21 years, with the majority of cases involving young people aged 24 years and below, records from the National Statistics Office show.
The suicide rate from 1984 to 2005 increased from 0.46 to seven out of every 200,000 men. On the other hand, it jumped from 0.24 to two for every 200,000 women.
The statistics showed the increasing suicide rate in the Philippines even as the World Health Organization, alarmed by the more than 600 suicides a day or about 800,000 suicides worldwide each year, called on its member-states in the Western Pacific Region, including the Philippines, to intensify their efforts to reduce the number of people killing themselves.
The studies conducted by Dinah Nadera, a psychiatrist and an associate professor of the UP Open University, who is working on suicide prevention strategies, showed that in most instances, a person who committed suicide did so during summer or in the morning when all family members had left for work or school, leaving the house empty.
“This is the time when people usually leave the house and go to work and this person who wants to die goes back when no one is home and carries out the suicide act when there is no one there,” she said.
A study of around 300 cases collected from the records of hospitals and the police in 2008 and 2009 showed that the majority of suicides were carried out at home during summer, particularly during the Lenten Season when Catholics observed fasting, prayer and penitence.
“Of course, this is based on findings from selected cases. We are not saying that this is the general trend for suicide and attempted suicide,” Nadera said.
The study also showed that hanging ranked No. 1 as the method for committing suicide, followed by strangulation and suffocation.
Those who tried to kill themselves but survived, the method used was self-poisoning, and mainly the ingestion of silver cleaner. The others exposed themselves to unspecified chemicals and noxious substances.
Nadera said the causes for suicide were depression, low income and unemployment, and medical conditions such as heart disease and cancer.
WHO regional director for the Western Pacific Shin Young-soo says effective treatments exist, and people at risk–those with mental disorders and substance-abuse problems–should receive professional attention and follow-ups.
“Every year, about 800,000 people die by their own hand,” Shin said.
“About 225,000 of these deaths–or more than a quarter of the worldwide total–occur in the Western Pacific Region.” (END)