Depression, anxiety and sleep disorders are significant risk factors associated with suicide among older adults, but ailments such as cancer, hypertension and peptic ulcers are also risk factors, a National Health Research Institutes study published in the Journal of Affective Disorders on Sunday showed.
National Center for Geriatrics and Welfare Research associate investigator Wu Chi-shin (吳其炘), who led the research team that produced the study, yesterday said that Taiwan’s suicide rates are highest among adults aged 65 or older.
The suicide rates among older adults ranged from 26.6 to 39.9 per 100,000 people in the past decade, higher than the estimated global rate of about 17.6 per 100,000 people, he said, citing Ministry of Health and Welfare data.
Photo: Taipei Times
The study aimed to estimate the population-attributable fraction (PAF) — the proportion of incidents in a population that are attributable to a risk factor — of psychiatric and physical disorders for suicide among older adults, focusing on gender and age-specific factors.
It used data from the National Death Registry and National Health Insurance Research Database, which included 9,136 cases of suicide in older adults, and compared them with 89,439 matched controls — older adults in the same township, of the same gender and with similar demographic characteristics — to assess the risk factors to calculate the PAF.
The study found that sleep disorders exhibited the highest PAF value for suicide among older adults, followed by depressive disorders and anxiety disorders.
The suicide risk from sleep disorders is lower than depressive disorders, but as the prevalence of sleep disorders is much higher, it becomes a higher risk factor for the whole age group, Wu said.
The study found that physical disorders also contribute to suicide risk, such as cancer, hypertension and peptic ulcers, he said.
The team also found that the prevalence and suicide risks associated with osteoarthritis and osteoporosis increase with age, he said, adding that they speculate intolerable pain and limited mobility affect older adults’ quality of life more severely as they age.
If psychological disorders are treated, it might reduce suicide risk by 46.3 percent in women and 34.1 percent in men, while the treatment of physical disorders might reduce suicide risk by 34.2 percent in women and 37.8 percent in men, he said.
Psychological disorders could pose higher suicide risks for women, because the prevalence of depressive disorders and anxiety disorders are higher in the female population, Wu said.
Aside from preventing psychological disorders, maintaining a healthy physical condition can also prevent suicide in older adults, he said.
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