Declining suicide rates in China (1990-2017): Gender and age specific analyses

In China suicide rates have been declining for about three decades. Patterns of suicide for women and men across the lifespan over time however have not been systematically documented.

Official suicide mortality data (from 1990 to 2017) available via China CDC were used to examine suicide patterns by gender and age in each of the 33 provincial-level regions. Suicide data were aggregated by five years, except for the year of 2017. The bar graphs were used to descriptive the change tread of the suicide rate.

In the past three decades, the decline in female suicide rates was greater than that in the male rates, with the overall male to female (M/F) ratio changing from 0.88 in 1996 to 1.56 in 2017. The overall suicide rate of male was 8.82 and female was 5.65 per 100,000 persons in 2017. However the decline of suicide rates for people aged 70 and older was the greatest declination (33.73/per 100,000 persons) among all the age groups in China.

Overall suicide rates have declined over the three decades in China, particularly among females and individuals age 70+ years. Suicide rates continue to be higher among individuals aged 50 and older (particularly among men), and this population should continue to the focus for prevention.