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Abstract
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BACKGROUND: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the suicidal ideology of the Taiwanese population remained unclear.
METHODS: By utilizing secondary data from the Taiwanese Society of Suicidology, we conducted an analysis of the suicide rate and the means of suicide among males and females in Kaohsiung, a major city known for its higher suicide rate in Taiwan. We selected a four-year study period (2018-2021) to account for the significance related to the pandemic (i.e., pre-pandemic: 2018-2019, sporadic cases: 2020, and the large-scale outbreak in 2021).
RESULTS: The mean number of suicides was 482±22.29 (range, 453-506). The mean numbers of suicides for males were 310±18.91(range: 294-337), while for females it was 173±19.87 (range: 148-196). There was a slight increase in the total number of suicides from 2018 to 2019, followed by a reduction in 2020. However, the number rebounded in 2021. The age-standardized suicide rate followed the similar trend. During the four-year period, a comparison of the age-standardized suicide rate between the whole country and that of Kaohsiung demonstrated a consistently higher rate in the latter. It was noteworthy that while there was a reduction in the national suicide rate following the pandemic, there was an increase observed in Kaohsiung. The five major means of suicide in Kaohsiung were hanging (35.7%), charcoal burning (22.5%), falling (17.8%), pesticide ingestion (12.3%), and drowning (11.7%). While there were notable increases in suicides through hanging and falling, there was a drastic decrease in cases through charcoal burning after the pandemic outbreak.
CONCLUSION: In contrast to the national trend, Kaohsiung showed an increase in suicide rate after full-scale pandemic outbreak. While suicides through hanging and falling were increased, a remarkable reduction in charcoal burning may be attributed to the suicide-preventing efforts of the Kaohsiung City government.
Language: zh |