Suicide rates in Zhejiang Province, China, from 2006 to 2016: a population-based study

We investigated the current temporal trends of suicide in Zhejiang, China, from 2006 to 2016 to determine possible health disparities in order to establish priorities for intervention.

We collected mortality surveillance data from 2006 to 2016 from the Zhejiang Chronic Disease Surveillance Information and Management System from the Zhejiang Provincial Centre for Disease Control and Prevention. We estimated region-specific and gender-specific suicide rates using joinpoint regression analyses to determine the average annual percentage change (AAPC) and its 95% CI.

The crude suicide rate declined from 9.64 per 100 000 people in 2006 to 4.86 per 100 000 in 2016, and the age-adjusted suicide rate decreased from 9.74 per 100 000 in 2006 to 4.14 per 100 000 in 2016. During 2006-2013, rural males had the highest suicide rate, followed by rural females, urban males, and urban females, while after 2013, urban males suicide rates surpassed rural female suicide rates, and became the second highest suicide rate subgroup. The rate of suicide declined in all region-specific and/or gender-specific subgroups except among urban males between 20 and 34 years of age. Their age-adjusted suicide rate AAPC greatly increased to 28.39 starting in 2013 compared with an AAPC of -13.47 from 2006 to 2013.

The suicide rate among young urban males has been alarmingly increasing since 2013, and thus, researchers must develop targeted effective strategies to mitigate this escalating loss of life.