Abstract
BackgroundChina has an unusual pattern of suicides, with overall suicide rates in rural areas higher than urban areas. While suicide rates have decreased dramatically, older people increasingly contribute to the overall burden of suicide. However, it is unclear if elderly people within rural areas experience greater suicide risk than those in urban areas. We aimed to systematically review the incidence of suicide in rural and urban China among the elderly (aged over 60 years), with a view to describing the difference in rates between rural and urban areas and trends over time.MethodsChinese and English language articles were searched for using four databases: EMBASE (Ovid), MEDLINE (Ovid), PsycINFO (EBSCOhost) and CNKI (in Chinese). Articles describing completed suicide among elderly people in both rural and urban areas in mainland China were included. The adapted Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) was used to assess risk of bias. One reviewer (ML) assessed eligibility, performed data extraction and assessed risk of bias, with areas of uncertainty discussed with the second reviewer (SVK). Random effects meta-analysis was conducted. Suicide methods in different areas were narratively summarised.ResultsOut of a total 3065 hits, 24 articles were included and seven contributed data to meta-analysis. The sample size of included studies ranged from 895 to 323.8 million. The suicide rate in the general population of China has decreased in recent decades over previous urban and rural areas. Suicide rates amongst the elderly in rural areas are higher than those in urban areas (OR = 3.35; 95% CI of 2.48 to 4.51; I2 = 99.6%), but the latter have increased in recent years. Insecticide poisoning and hanging are the most common suicide methods in rural and urban areas respectively. Suicide rates for these two methods increase with age, being especially high in elderly people.ConclusionsThe pattern of suicide in China has changed in recent years following urbanisation and aging. Differences in suicide rates amongst the elderly exist between rural and urban areas. Addressing the high suicide rate amongst the elderly in rural China requires a policy response, such as considering measures to restrict access to poisons.
Highlights
China has an unusual pattern of suicides, with overall suicide rates in rural areas higher than urban areas
(2019) 18:2 the world [12]; the World Health Organization (WHO) estimate that the elderly population in China will potentially increase to 330 million by 2050, with China having over 30% of the population aged 60 years and over [13]
Results of critical appraisal Detailed scores of the critical appraisal are listed in Additional file 4
Summary
China has an unusual pattern of suicides, with overall suicide rates in rural areas higher than urban areas. While suicide rates have decreased dramatically, older people increasingly contribute to the overall burden of suicide. It is unclear if elderly people within rural areas experience greater suicide risk than those in urban areas. We aimed to systematically review the incidence of suicide in rural and urban China among the elderly (aged over 60 years), with a view to describing the difference in rates between rural and urban areas and trends over time. In terms of rural-urban differences in suicide rates, contrary to the common belief that urbanisation is harmful for mental health and increases suicide rates [14], rural people in China have higher crude suicide rates [15]. Trends over time and the most common suicide methods are unknown
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