• 대한불안의학회지
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• 제9권2호
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• pp.135-139
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• 2013

Objective : This study was conducted to examine the relationship between the annual changes of suicide methods and suicide rates in South Korea. We compared the suicide methods in South Korea with those in six other OECD countries, Japan, Finland, France, United States, Canada and Australia. Methods : Data of suicide rates and methods since the year 2000 were obtained from the official electronic mortality data published by the seven countries and from the World Health Organization [WHO] mortality database. We compared the correlation between suicide methods and suicidal rates in South Korea using Spearman's correlation test. Results : The proportion of hanging steadily increased, whereas self-poisoning steadily decreased from 2000 to 2011. The increased use of hanging was associated with the increase of suicide rates in South Korea. The preference for jumping as a suicide method in South Korea can be notably compared to that of other countries. Conclusion : Preference use of lethal methods, such as hanging, may play a great role in the increase of suicide rates in South Korea. The limitation of physical and cognitive access to lethal methods can be an effective suicide prevention strategy.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제49권3호
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• pp.176-182
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• 2016

Objectives: Prospective evaluations of the associations between depressive symptoms and suicide deaths have been mainly performed in high-risk populations, such as individuals with psychiatric disorders or histories of self-harm. The purpose of this study was to prospectively examine whether more severe depressive symptoms assessed using the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) were associated with a greater risk of death from suicide in a general-risk population. Methods: A total of 113 478 men from the Korean Veterans Health Study (mean age, 58.9 years) who participated in a postal survey in 2004 were followed up for suicide mortality until 2010. Results: Over 6.4 years of follow-up, 400 men died by suicide (56.7 deaths per 100 000 person-years). More severe depressive symptoms were associated with greater risk of suicide death (p for trend <0.001). The unadjusted hazard ratios (HRs) in comparison to the absence of depression were 2.18 for mild depression, 2.13 for moderate depression, 3.33 for severe depression, and 3.67 for extreme depression. After adjusting for potential confounders, men with a potential depressive disorder had an approximate 90% higher mortality from suicide (adjusted HR, 1.92; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.38 to 2.68; p<0.001) than men without depression. Each five-point increase in the GDS score was associated with a higher risk of death by suicide (adjusted HR, 1.22; p<0.001). The value of the area under the receiver operating characteristics curve of GDS scores for suicide deaths was 0.61 (95% CI, 0.58 to 0.64). Conclusions: Depressive symptoms assessed using the GDS were found to be a strong independent predictor of future suicide. However, the estimate of relative risk was weaker than would be expected based on retrospective psychological autopsy studies.

• 대한임상독성학회지
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• 제16권2호
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• pp.93-101
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• 2018

Purpose: The Korean government has tried to decrease the suicide death rate over the last decade. Suicide attempts, particularly non-fatal attempts, are the most powerful known risk factor for a completed suicide. An analysis of suicide attempt methods will help establish the effective preventive action of suicide. Fit prevention according to the method of suicide attempt may decrease the incidence of suicide death. Self-poisoning is suggested as a major method of both suicide attempts and suicide death. The aim of this study was to determine if a self-poisoning patient is a suitable target for the prevention of the suicide. Methods: This was retrospective analysis of a prospective cohort, which included patients who presented to the emergency department (ED) after a self-harm or suicide attempt from Jan 2013 to Dec 2017. The proportion of methods in suicide attempts, psychological consultation, and fatality according to the suicide attempt method were analyzed. The types of poison were also analyzed. Results: Poisoning was the most common method of suicide attempts (52.1%). The rate of psychological consultations were 18.8% for all patients and 29.1% for poison patients (p<0.001). The rate of mortality in poisoning was 0.6%. Psychological consultation was performed more frequently in admission cases than discharged cases. The most common materials of poisons was psychological medicines and sedatives that had been prescribed at clinics or hospital. Conclusion: Self-poisoning is a major method of suicide attempt with a high rate of psychiatric consultation, low mortality rate, versus others methods. The prevention of suicide death for suicide attempts may focus on self-poisoning, which is the major method of suicide attempts. A suitable aftercare program for self-poisoning may be an effective method for preventing suicide if an early diagnosis and management of psychiatric disorders through psychiatric consultation can be made, and early connection to social prevention program for non-fatal patients are possible.

• 보건의료산업학회지
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• 제7권3호
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• pp.287-296
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• 2013

The aim of this study was to compare the regional difference of death from intentional self-harm. The analysis was based on data of intentional self-harm deaths (31,450) from the 2010-2011 vital statistics of Korea. The suicide rate (per 100,000 population) was 46.2 in male and 22.3 in female. Gender ratio (male / female) of suicide rate was 2.07, and Jeju province had the lowest gender ratio (1.82), and Chungbuk province had the highest gender ratio (2.42). In the age-gender standardized death rate (per 100,000) of self-harm by region, the highest suicide rate was observed in Gangwon province (44.8) and Chungnam province (44.3), and the lowest in Seoul metropolitan city (28.9) and Ulsan metropolitan city (29.2). There was a significant increase in the rate of suicide in city areas (odds ratio: 1.11, 95% CI: 1.08-1.13), county areas (1.62, 1.56-1.67) as compared with the rate of suicide in metropolitan areas. The commonest methods of suicide were hanging (53.7 percent), self-poisoning by pesticides (16.8 percent) and jumping from a height (14.3 percent). The methods used for suicide differed between rural (county) and urban areas (metropolitan city and city). In county areas, 43 percent of suicides used pesticides as compared to only 7-18 percent of those in urban areas. In urban areas, jumping was more common (13-17 percent vs. 6 percent). There were no difference in hanging between urban and rural areas. The odds ratio of death by pesticides was 9.86 in rural areas compared with death rate of metropolitan areas. The odds ratio of death by jumping was 0.59 in rural compared with death rate of metropolitan areas.

• 대한임상독성학회지
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• 제21권2호
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• pp.69-80
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• 2023

Purpose: Suicide ranks among the top causes of death among youth in South Korea. This study aimed to identify the characteristics of suicidal individuals treated at emergency departments between 2011 and 2020. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted using data from January 2011 to December 2020 in the Injury Surveillance Cohort, a prospective registry. Patients' sex, age, mortality, methods of self-harm, and previous suicide attempts were analyzed. The methods of self-harm were categorized into falls, asphyxiation, blunt injuries, penetrating injuries, poisoning, and others. Sub-groups with and without poisoning were compared. Results: The proportion of self-harm/suicide attempts increased from 2.3% (2011) to 5.0% (2020). The mortality rate decreased from 10.8% (2011) to 6.3% (2020). Poisoning was the most common method (61.7%). Mortality rates ranged from 42.0% for asphyxiation to 0.2% for blunt injuries. Individuals in their 20s showed a marked increase in suicide/self-harm attempts, especially in the last three years. A large proportion of decedents in their 70s or older (52.6%) used poisoning as a method of suicide. The percentage of individuals with two or more previous attempts rose from 7.1% (2011) to 19.7% (2020). The death rates by poisoning decreased from 7.7% (2011) to 2.5% (2020). Conclusion: Our findings underscore the urgent need for targeted interventions and suicide prevention policies. Managing and reducing suicide and self-harm in emergency settings will require a focus on poisoning, the 10-29 age group, and the elderly. This paper will be valuable for future policies aiming to reduce the societal burden of suicide and self-harm.

• 한국콘텐츠학회논문지
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• 제15권1호
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• pp.252-263
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• 2015

우리나라는 2004년부터 지금까지 OECD 국가 가운데 자살사망률 1위이며, 지속적으로 자살자 수와 자살사망률이 증가하고 있다. 효과적인 자살정책을 확인하기 위해 AHP(Analytic Hierarchy Process) 기법을 이용하여 자살예방의 주요 접근방법별 세부정책들의 우선순위를 조사하였다. 설문은 2013년 8월 23일, 26일 두 차례에 걸쳐 총 30명을 대상으로 워크숍 형식으로 실시하였다. 이중 학계는 20명(사회복지사 4명, 정신보건학자 7명, 정신의학자 5명, 임상심리학자 4명), 정책결정자는 5명, 공급자는 5명이였다. 2013년 9월 9일부터 12일까지 4일간 이메일로 사회복지분야와 임상심리분야에서 각각 5명씩 추가하여 총 40명을 대상으로 조사를 하였다. 세부 정책들의 중요도는 '자살시도자 관리,' '공공자살예방서비스 인프라 구축,' '유가족 지원사업,' '위험집단의 위기관리' 등의 정책에서 높은 것으로 나타났다.

• 대한간호학회지
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• 제38권3호
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• pp.465-473
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• 2008

Purpose: Suicide has been considered a large public health concern in recent years because suicide mortality has been increasing rapidly. This study was done to investigate the prevalence and risk factors of a suicide attempt among adolescents in South Korea. Methods: The data of the 2006 Youth Health Risk Behavior web-based Survey collected by the Korean Center for Disease Control was analyzed using logistic regression for this study. Results: The prevalence of a suicide attempt was 5.2% in South Korea. The risk factors of a suicide attempt were suicidal ideation (odds 31.83), depression (odds 7.98), drug use (odds 4.67), currently smoking (odds 3.19), feeling unhappiness (odds 2.77), stress (odds 2.60), currently drinking alcohol (odds 2.39), sexual activity (odds 2.33), living with neither parent (odds 2.24), initial alcohol drinking by age 9 (odds 1.80), health status (odds 2.15), skipped breakfast (odds 1.75), disease (odds 1.65), and school records (odds 1.22). Conclusion: Suicide screening and prevention programs should be developed, considering these risk factors. Suicide prevention programs should be applied to the at risk population prior to a suicide attempt.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제56권3호
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• pp.264-271
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• 2023

Objectives: Hanging is a common method of attempted suicide. This study investigated the epidemiological profile of attempted and completed suicides by hanging in southern Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 1167 suicide attempts by hanging between 2011 and 2019. All data related to suicide attempts by hanging were collected from the Fars Suicide Surveillance System. The trends in suicide cases and the mean age of attempted and completed suicides were plotted. The chi-square test was used to identify suicide-related factors. Crude rates of incidence, mortality, and standardized fatality during the study period were calculated. Finally, logistic regression was used to identify the predictors of death in individuals who attempted suicide. Results: The mean age of those who attempted suicide was 33.21±16.82 years; the majority were male (80.5%). The rate of attempted and completed suicide by hanging were 3.50 and 2.79 per 100 000 people, respectively. The case-fatality rate was calculated as 79.34%. The results of our study indicated an increasing trend in suicide attempts by hanging. The likelihood of death was 2.28 times higher in individuals with a previous history of suicide attempts and 1.85 times higher in those with a psychological disorder. Conclusions: The findings of this study suggest an increasing trend in attempted and completed suicide by hanging, especially among individuals with a history of suicide attempts and psychological disorders. It is necessary to take action to reduce the rate of suicide attempts and identify the underlying causes of suicide attempts by hanging.

• 한국학교보건학회지
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• 제22권2호
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• pp.13-23
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• 2009

Purpose: Suicide was considered as a big public health concern in recent years because suicide mortality has been increased rapidly. This study was to investigate the prevalence and risk factors of suicidal ideation among adolescents in South Korea. Methods: The data of 2007 Youth Health Risk Behavior Web-based Survey collected by Korean Center for Disease Control were analyzed using logistic regression for this study. Results: The prevalence of suicidal ideation was 23.7% in South Korea. The risk factors of suicide ideation were depression (odds 8.43), perceived stress(odds 4.30), drug use (odds 2.47), sexual intercourse(odds 2.36), present smoking (odds 1.76), present alcohol drink (odds 2.39), feeling unhappiness (odds 2.89), living with none of parents (odds 1.71), gender(odds 1.72), health status (odds 1.66), and socioeconomic status (odds 2.0). Conclusion : Health risk behaviors and mental health status were related to suicide ideation. Health risk behavior such as smoking and drinking prevention programs and mental health promotion programs should be implemented to decrease suicide ideation among adolescents. Suicide, mental health and health risk behaviors should be prevented through comprehensive health promotion programs.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제38권2호
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• pp.125-131
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• 2005

Injury has recently become a major world-wide health problem. Injury related deaths occur in many actively working young people and produce major social and economical losses. However health related specialists do not recognize the importance of injury and there have not been many studies related to this problem. This research studied the trends of injury related research in Korea, mortality rate and prevalence rate, socio-economical losses and control in Korea and out of the country, based on literature from Korea and without such as statistical yearly reports on causes of deaths and OECD health reports, as well as WHO web sites. Studies in Korea about injury were very few, with 9 in the 1960's, 5 in the 1980's, 4 in the 1990's and 5 in 2000's. Mortality rate of injury was higher in Korea than in England, USA or Japan, especially in car accidents, suicide and falls. In Korea, the yearly trends in mortality rates were highest in car accidents but those rates are falling, suicide is steadily rising, with highest rate in 2003. Falls is in second rank with no change in rates. In 2003, the ten causes of death in Korea were suicide in 5th rank, transport accidents in 7th rank, and falls in 10th rank. Considering age groups, in the teens, transport accidents were 1st rank, in the 20's and 30's, suicide was 1st rank, and although there were some differences, falls, drowning, assault, fire were in the top 10. Prevalence rates of injury could not be known, but in 2001, according to the National Health and Nutrition Survey, lifelong injury was 10%, and yearly major injury was 1.3%, major injury for two weeks was 0.1%, and minor injury was 10%. In other foreign countries, injury has become to be recognized as a major health related problem, and much programs are being set up to reduce injury related deaths and injuries. WHO is putting much effort in prevention of violence and transport accidents, and in the USA, Canada and Europe, there are injury surveillance systems. Recently, as suicide is increasing rapidly and providing much problems, each country are managing suicide prevention programs. In Korea, Ministry of Construction and Transportation is managing and guiding the policies for prevention of transport accidents. In September of 2004, the Ministry of Health and Welfare has set up a 5 year plan of suicide prevention.