University of Central Lancashire, Preston and West London Mental Health NHS Trust, London, UK.
Int J Psychiatry Clin Pract. 2009;13(4):273-7. doi: 10.3109/13651500902912702.
Background. Although life-long adversity has been suggested as a protective factor for elderly suicides, studies examining protective factors for elderly suicides are scarce. Methods. The relationship between elderly suicide rates and five proxy measures of adversity earlier in life was examined using data from the World Health Organisation and the United Nations data banks. Results. Suicide rates on univariate analysis, in males and females in both the elderly age-bands, were lower when the severity of adversity was higher for at least four of the five proxy measures of adversity earlier in life. However, on multiple regression analyses, the only independent predictor of elderly suicide rates in males in both the elderly age-bands and in females in the age-band 65-74 years was the proportion of elderly in the total population. Conclusions. The mechanism through which adversity early in life and the proportion of elderly in the general population affect elderly suicide rates requires formal testing in long-term within-country longitudinal studies where adversity early in life changes over time within a country.
背景。尽管终身逆境被认为是老年人自杀的保护因素，但研究老年人自杀的保护因素却很少。
方法。使用世界卫生组织和联合国数据库的数据，研究了老年人自杀率与生命早期五种逆境替代指标之间的关系。
结果。在单变量分析中，在生命早期的五种逆境替代指标中至少有四个指标的严重程度较高时，男性和女性在两个老年年龄组中的自杀率都较低。然而，在多元回归分析中，在两个老年年龄组中的男性和在 65-74 岁年龄组中的女性中，唯一能独立预测老年人自杀率的因素是老年人在总人口中的比例。
结论。生命早期的逆境和老年人在总人口中的比例如何影响老年人的自杀率，需要在长期的国家内纵向研究中进行正式测试，在这种研究中，生命早期的逆境会随着时间的推移在一个国家内发生变化。
