Abstract
BackgroundSuicide is a global public health problem which has significant negative influence on individuals, families and the society. The aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence of suicidal ideation and related factors among elderly people in rural China, and further examine the gender differences of suicidal ideation.MethodsData were collected from the 2017 Survey of the Shandong Elderly Family Health Service, which was conducted by Shandong University. A total of 5514 elderly aged 60 and above from rural Shandong were included in this study. Binary logistic regression model was performed to examine the gender difference towards suicidal ideation, and to identify the influencing factors of suicidal ideation by gender among elderly.Results7.7% rural elderly reported suicidal ideation in the past 12 months in Shandong, China. The prevalence of suicidal ideation among females was significantly higher than that among males (P < 0.001). Education level, debts, stress of daily life, loneliness and psychological distress were significantly related to suicidal ideation in both males and females. Besides, negative life events and life satisfaction were found to be significantly associated with suicidal ideation in females but not in males.ConclusionsThere was a significant gender difference towards suicidal ideation among rural elderly in Shandong, China. So, gender difference should be considered when medical practitioners and public health workers seek to prevent and manage suicidal ideation among rural elderly, which will be important to develop strategies for coping with risk factors for suicidal ideation among males and females. In other words, more attention should be paid to females who had encountered negative life event or with lower life satisfaction.
Highlights
Suicide is a global public health problem which has significant negative influence on individuals, families and the society
Multi-stage random sampling was applied to select participants: in the first stage, 6 counties were selected from 137 counties as the primary sampling units (PSUs) throughout the eastern, central and western regions of Shandong Province
The results showed that education level, debts, stress of daily life, negative life events, loneliness, psychological distress and life satisfaction were statistically associated with suicidal ideation (P < 0.05)
Summary
Suicide is a global public health problem which has significant negative influence on individuals, families and the society. Suicide is a serious public health issue in the worldwide, which causes a heavy economic, social and psychological burden on the individuals, families and society. With the aging of population, the prevalence of suicide among elderly is increasingly higher, which becomes one of the most important public health issues we should of concern. Another study showed that seniors aged 65 years and over had the highest rate of completed suicide in China, which reached 44.3–200 per 100,00 [7]. China is one of few countries with higher female suicide rates in the worldwide, but little is to known about the gender difference in suicidal ideation among Chinese rural elderly. Suicidal ideation among Chinese rural elderly and the difference between males and females deserve more attention
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