Kaya Ahsen, Tosun Tasar Pınar, Meral Orhan, Sahın Sevnaz, Balkay Mustafa, Ozgur Aktas Ekin, Akcıcek Fehmi
Ege University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Forensic Medicine, Izmir, Turkey.
Ataturk University Hospital, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Geriatrics, Erzurum, Turkey.
Leg Med (Tokyo). 2020 Sep;46:101721. doi: 10.1016/j.legalmed.2020.101721. Epub 2020 May 28.
As the older population steadily grows, a corresponding increase in elderly suicides is also expected. In addition, due to differences in the physical and psychosocial characteristics of this age group, the characteristics of elderly suicides are predicted to be different to those of other groups. In this study, we aimed to report the characteristics of suicides 60 years and older according to sex and age subgroups. We retrospectively reviewed the autopsy reports of individuals aged 60 and older who committed suicide in Turkey during the 10-year period between 2005 and 2014. Their age, sex, cause of death, and year, month, season, place, and method of suicide were analyzed. Comparisons were made based on sex, age subgroup, demographic variables, and descriptive characteristics of the suicides. Of 17,942 forensic autopsies, 525 were elderly suicides. Of these, 77.3% were men and the mean age was 71.26 ± 8.16 (range, 60-94) years. There were statistically significant differences in suicide method according to sex (p < 0.001, X = 43.984) and age subgroups (p = 0.001, X = 51.457). For both sexes, hanging was the most common suicide method (59.4%) and the majority of suicides occurred at home (73.1%). The suicides occurred more frequently in the 65-74 age subgroup, in the summer, and in the months of June and July. Identifying the characteristics of elderly suicides, especially by sex and age subgroups, may be beneficial for suicide risk assessment and the development of prediction and prevention programs.
随着老年人口稳步增长，预计老年自杀人数也会相应增加。此外，由于该年龄组身体和心理社会特征存在差异，预计老年自杀的特征将与其他群体不同。在本研究中，我们旨在报告60岁及以上自杀者按性别和年龄亚组划分的特征。我们回顾性分析了2005年至2014年这10年间在土耳其自杀的60岁及以上个体的尸检报告。分析了他们的年龄、性别、死因以及自杀年份、月份、季节、地点和方式。根据性别、年龄亚组、人口统计学变量以及自杀的描述性特征进行了比较。在17942例法医尸检中，有525例为老年自杀。其中，77.3%为男性，平均年龄为71.26±8.16岁（范围60 - 94岁）。根据性别（p<0.001，X = 43.984）和年龄亚组（p = 0.001，X = 51.457），自杀方式存在统计学显著差异。对于两性而言，上吊是最常见的自杀方式（59.4%），且大多数自杀发生在家中（73.1%）。自杀在65 - 74岁年龄亚组、夏季以及6月和7月更为频繁。确定老年自杀的特征，尤其是按性别和年龄亚组划分的特征，可能有助于自杀风险评估以及预测和预防方案的制定。
