Osaka School of International Public Policy, Osaka University, 1-31 Machikaneyama, Toyonaka, Osaka, 560-0043, Japan.
Department of Economics, Korea University, 145 Anam-ro, Sungbuk-gu, Seoul, 02841, South Korea.
Sci Rep. 2019 Nov 12;9(1):16642. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-53203-4.
Recent studies suggest that the risk of suicide is higher during and around birthdays. The so-called "birthday blues" might be stronger on birthdays at milestone ages (e.g., 20, 30, 40), as these symbolic ages might represent occasions for existential stock-taking that may highlight failures and underachievement in life. Moreover, in some countries (including Japan), certain symbolic birthdays come with the expectation of celebration with family and friends, and thus such special birthdays may elevate the birthday blues if there is nobody to celebrate the occasion with. This study examines the possibility that there are more suicides on milestone birthdays than on other birthdays or days other than birthdays, using approximately one million individual death records between 1974 and 2014 in Japan. Graphical analysis and Poisson regression analysis showed that suicides occurred more frequently on milestone birthdays when people turn 20, 30, 40, and 60. This pattern was predominately observed in men. Our findings suggest that it is crucial for health professionals and family members to pay close attention to vulnerable individuals as their birthdays approach. In particular, individuals are at a higher risk when birthdays coincide with occasions of social significance, including the ages of adulthood (age 20) and retirement (age 60).
最近的研究表明，自杀的风险在生日期间和前后更高。所谓的“生日忧郁”在里程碑年龄（例如 20、30、40 岁）的生日时可能更强烈，因为这些象征性的年龄可能代表着存在主义的思考时刻，这可能突出生活中的失败和未实现的成就。此外，在一些国家（包括日本），某些象征性的生日伴随着与家人和朋友庆祝的期望，因此，如果没有人一起庆祝这个特殊的日子，那么这样的特殊生日可能会加重生日忧郁。本研究使用了日本 1974 年至 2014 年期间大约 100 万份个人死亡记录，检验了在里程碑生日时自杀的可能性是否高于其他生日或非生日的可能性。图形分析和泊松回归分析表明，当人们年满 20、30、40 和 60 岁时，在里程碑生日时自杀更为频繁。这种模式主要发生在男性中。我们的研究结果表明，健康专业人员和家庭成员密切关注临近生日的脆弱个体至关重要。特别是，当生日与具有社会意义的场合（包括成年年龄（20 岁）和退休年龄（60 岁））相吻合时，个体的风险更高。
