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Urbanicity and Methods of Suicide: A Nationwide Population-based Study

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Abstract

Despite urban–rural disparities in suicide rates having been reported in prior studies, there is scant information on the impact of urbanicity on suicide methods. This study investigates violent and nonviolent suicide methods in Taiwan and their association with urbanicity. We use a Taiwanese nationwide mortality database covering the period January 1997 to December 2003. A multilevel logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the relationship between urbanicity and violent/nonviolent suicide methods after adjusting for the age, gender, marital status and employment status of the victims, and the seasons during which the deaths occurred to account for possible dependence within cities/towns. Of the total of 17,849 suicide deaths examined, those residing in more urbanized areas tended to commit suicide by violent methods, an association that remains after controlling for the age, gender, marital and employment status of the victims, and the season during which the deaths occurred. We concluded that a significant association is noted between urbanicity and suicide methods. Thus, effective strategies for suicide prevention should also consider urbanicity.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan

    Kuo-Hsuan Chung & Hsin-Chien Lee

  2. Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan

    Kuo-Hsuan Chung & Hsin-Chien Lee

  3. School of Public Health, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan

    Senyeong Kao

  4. School of Health Care Administration, Taipei Medical University, 250 Wu-Hsing St., Taipei 110, Taiwan

    Herng-Ching Lin

Authors
  1. Kuo-Hsuan Chung
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  2. Hsin-Chien Lee
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  3. Senyeong Kao
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  4. Herng-Ching Lin
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Herng-Ching Lin.

Additional information

Chung and Lee are with the Department of Psychiatry, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Chung and Lee are with the Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan; Kao is with the School of Public Health, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan; Lin is with the School of Health Care Administration, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.

Appendix

Appendix

TABLE 4 Description and criteria of the seven levels of urbanicity in Taiwan
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Chung, KH., Lee, HC., Kao, S. et al. Urbanicity and Methods of Suicide: A Nationwide Population-based Study. J Urban Health 85, 136–145 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-007-9238-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-007-9238-7

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