Takahashi Y, Hirasawa H, Koyama K, Asakawa O, Kido M, Onose H, Udagawa M, Ishikawa Y, Uno M
Department of Psychopathology, Tokyo Institute of Psychiatry, Japan.
Int Psychogeriatr. 1995 Summer;7(2):239-51. doi: 10.1017/s1041610295002006.
Although individuals aged 65 and over accounted for 12% of the total population of Japan in 1990, suicides in this age group consisted of 29% of all suicides. The elderly population of Japan is expected to grow rapidly to 24% of the total population by the year 2020, and suicide prevention for the elderly is an urgent mental health problem. Among a total of 1,216 elderly patients who were admitted to the Department of Psychiatry at Tokyo Metropolitan Geriatric Hospital between April 1980 and March 1990, 50 were hospitalized immediately after suicide attempts in order to study their psychosociomedical problems. Because early diagnosis of depression and initiation of proper treatment are indispensable--even if patients do not show obvious depressive symptoms--those who develop persistent somatization and/or delirium should be considered highly suicidal and given special attention. With the cooperation of mental health professionals, it is necessary to educate general practitioners, the public, and the elderly themselves about characteristics of psychiatric disorders and various problems associated with aging. Further research on other elderly Japanese populations, as well as research that examines suicide completion, is needed to confirm the findings of the present study.
尽管1990年65岁及以上的老年人占日本总人口的12%，但该年龄组的自杀人数却占所有自杀人数的29%。预计到2020年，日本老年人口将迅速增长至总人口的24%，因此预防老年人自杀是一个紧迫的心理健康问题。在1980年4月至1990年3月期间入住东京都老人医院精神科的1216名老年患者中，有50人在自杀未遂后立即住院，以便研究他们的社会心理医学问题。由于即使患者没有表现出明显的抑郁症状，抑郁症的早期诊断和适当治疗的启动也是必不可少的，因此那些出现持续性躯体化和/或谵妄的患者应被视为具有高度自杀倾向，并给予特别关注。在心理健康专业人员的合作下，有必要对全科医生、公众和老年人自身进行有关精神疾病特征以及与衰老相关的各种问题的教育。需要对其他日本老年人群体进行进一步研究，以及对自杀既遂情况进行研究，以证实本研究的结果。
