China has one of the highest suicide rates in the world,
particularly among rural women, an expert on suicide prevention
said Monday.
Yang Fude, vice-president of Beijing Hui Long Guan Hospital,
said China is the only country where suicides among women outnumber
men.
"It is also one of the few countries where rural suicides
outnumber urban suicides," he said on World Suicide Prevention
Day.
Recent statistics show more than 287,000 people end their own
lives every year on the Chinese mainland.
Stress and depression cause 70 to 80 percent of suicides in
urban areas, where many of those afflicted jump off buildings,
according to data released by the Beijing Suicide Research and
Prevention Center.
Half of the suicides on the mainland are of women in rural
areas, who commonly drink pesticide to end their lives. They may do
so because of family disputes, low-educational levels and
restricted social communication.
More than 58 percent of suicides by females and 27 percent of
attempts in rural areas used pesticides.
Though suicide ranks fifth after cerebrovascular diseases (such
as a stroke), bronchitis, chronic emphysema, liver cancer and
pneumonia, it is the leading cause of death for people aged between
15 and 34.
A two-year survey by researchers at Peking University found over
20 percent of 140,000 high-school students interviewed said they
had considered committing suicide. And 6.5 percent of the students
surveyed said they had made plans to kill themselves.
"Compared with Western countries, suicide in China is an escape
from immediate problems and not related to mental issues as much,"
Yang said.
"Here suicides are more often spur of the moment."
Yang called for more attention to be paid to potential suicides
of young women in rural areas and senior citizens in urban
areas.
"As the nation ages, more elderly people are left at home with
psychological and physical problems," Yang said.
Zhan Chunyun, dean of the Guangzhou-based Kangning Psychology
Hotline, suggested counseling and prevention services should be
more accessible.
"The number of suicides can be drastically reduced if more
medication, hotline and counseling facilities are available,
particularly in the countryside," Zhan said.
Currently, the country has just 19 professional suicide
intervention institutes registered nationwide. These provide
depression hot lines staffed by nurses, depression-awareness
campaigns and psychiatrists in emergency rooms.
The central government has gradually realized suicide is
becoming a public health issue that happens to all groups of
people.
Research has been launched to investigate the reasons for young
people committing suicide.
(China Daily September 11, 2007)