Regional Suicide Rate Change Patterns in Korea

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Epidemiology
• Sociology

Background:

• Korea previously held the highest suicide rate in OECD countries.
• Since 2010, suicide rates in Korea have shown a declining trend following policy interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze regional suicide rate change patterns in Korea from 2010 to 2017.
• To identify demographic and social factors influencing these regional patterns.

Main Methods:

• Latent growth modeling was used to analyze suicide rates across 229 Korean cities, counties, and districts.
• Key independent variables included proportion of elderly residents, financial independence, and availability of mental health and social welfare facilities.

Main Results:

• Three distinct suicide rate change patterns were identified: 'average', 'precipitous drop', and 'high level'.
• A high elderly population correlated with increased suicide rates, but this effect was mitigated by the presence of social welfare facilities.

Conclusions:

• Suicide rate interventions require tailored, region-specific strategies developed collaboratively by central and local governments.
• Understanding regional characteristics is crucial for effective suicide rate reduction.