Brief report: Sex differences in suicide rates and suicide methods among adolescents in South Korea, Japan, Finland, and the US
Section snippets
Methods
Data on suicide rates and suicide methods were obtained from the World Health Organization (WHO) mortality database (WHO., 2013). The most recent data were from 2011 for South Korea, Japan, and Finland, and 2010 for the US. The numbers of suicides of adolescents aged 15–19 years were 317 among 3,544,699 population in South Korea, 509 among 6,009,000 population in Japan, 43 among 329,926 population in Finland, and 1658 among 2,1086,000 population in the US. Suicide methods were classified into
Suicide rates according to sex and countries
Suicide rates according to sex and countries are illustrated in Fig. 1. For all four countries, the suicide rates of males were higher than those of females. The suicide rates of males were higher than those of females in all countries. The sex ratio (male: female) of suicide rates was 3.8 for the US, 3.6 for Finland, 1.9 for Japan, and 1.3 for South Korea.
Comparison of suicide methods across countries
Suicide methods according to sex and country are presented in Fig. 2. Among male adolescents, jumping from high places was the most common
Discussion
The male-to-female suicide ratio was higher in the US and Finland, where sex differences in suicide methods was more prominent, than in Korea and Japan. The prevalence of lethal methods of suicide may be reflected in the suicide rates in each country and in men versus women.
Firearms, one of the most lethal suicide methods with over 80% case fatality (Shenassa, Catlin, & Buka, 2003), might be associated with a high male: female ratio in the US and Finland, whereas suicide by firearms was more
Acknowledgment
This study was supported by the Jeon Sang-Bae Child and Adolescent Research Fund of Korean Neuropsychiatry Research Foundation in 2014.
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