Factors associated with Suicidal Ideation among Older Adults in the Community Using Data from the 2021 Community Health Survey

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to report the level of suicidal ideation in older Korean adults living in the community and identify the factors associated with suicidal ideation.Methods: A total of 73,326 older adults were selected and analyzed using the 2021 Community Health Survey. The collected data were analyzed using the Rao-scott test and logistic regression using SAS 9.4.Results: Among older adults, 9.2% had suicidal ideations. Life dissatisfaction was the factor most strongly associated with suicidal ideation, followed by depression, poor subjective health, high stress, cognitive disability, lower economic state, living alone, older age, smoking, low education, older women, and diabetes.Conclusion: When developing suicide preventive interventions for older adults, it is important to consider mental health indicators, such as life satisfaction, depression, and stress. In addition, active efforts to identify more vulnerable subgroups of older adults should consider older individual adult’s economic status, family structure, age, and education rather than taking a generalized approach.