1 in 6 adults considered suicide

By Bae Ji-sook

Staff reporter

Nearly one in six adults here have seriously considered committing suicide, reflecting the severity of the issue and underlining the need for more effective countermeasures, a recent survey has shown.

Family conflict was the biggest factor behind suicides, followed by financial difficulties, divorce or separation, and disease, according to researchers at Samsung Seoul Hospital and Seoul National University (SNU) Hospital, Thursday.

Dr. Jeon Hong-jin of Samsung and Dr. Cho Maeng-je of SNU hospital conducted the survey of 6,510 people over 18 years old and found that about 15.2 percent, or 982, had seriously considered killing themselves.

This is the first time such a large number of people were surveyed by medical doctors for suicide research. The findings were published in the latest edition of the Journal of Affective Disorder.

About 3.3 percent, or 214, said they had drawn up specific plans to commit suicide, while another 3.2 percent or 208, actually attempted it but failed.

Among the 3.2 percent who have attempted suicide, 2 percent planned it in advance while the rest were "impulsive."

Most of them first planned suicide at the age of 24 on average and it took them 1.1 years before their first attempt.

Doctors and professors pointed out that those who plan suicide usually take sleeping pills or tranquilizers or stab themselves but those who were impulsive drink toxic chemicals such as pesticides or throw themselves off buildings.

Impulsive suicide committers suffer more from depression or alcohol abuse than the "planners." Those who have bipolar disorder have a 3.5 times higher risk of committing suicide than those who don't.

"The research results suggest that people with the potential to commit suicide start thinking about death more than a year in advance. We need to listen to their stories, their complaints and their problems to prevent such tragedies," Jeon said. "Especially, we need to focus on those suffering from mood disorders because in these cases, asking them directly and talking about it will help."

Meanwhile, a separate report by Statistics Korea indicated that suicide is the No. 3 cause of death among females here.

According to its report, about 18.7 women per 100,000 killed themselves in 2008, taking third place in cause of death following cerebrovascular and heart diseases. The figure is higher than traffic accidents, gastric and lung cancer and other causes, indicating that suicide has reached an alarming level here.

Korea's suicide rate for women was highest among OECD member states, which in general marked 4 to 8 per 100,000. Japan was the only exceptional case with 13.2.

It's not only women but also male suicide that is serious as it marked 33.4 per 100,000, fourth in the cause of death. The figure is the second highest among OECD peers, following Japan with 34.8.

Suicide has been one of the gravest issues for several years. Notable figures from entertainers to socialites, business people and others have fueled the misfortunate trend with what experts call a copy cat syndrome.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare is conducting anti-suicide campaigns and raising public awareness to encourage prevention.