SG suicide rate among the lowest for developed nations

last SG · 2007-08-29T18:57:16+00:00

Yes yes. So you are now trying to insult the Muslims.

Gazelle SG

SINGAPORE: The figures point to a worrying trend - more men in their 40s and women in their 50s have committed suicide since 2003.

In that year, there were 14 suicides for every 100,000 men in their 40s, according to government figures released yesterday. This increased to 19 per 100,000 last year.

For women, there were eight suicides per 100,000 of those in their 50s in 2003. The figure rose to 13 per 100,000 last year.

According to earlier media reports, 419 people took their lives last year, up from 346 in 2003.

Still, Singapore's overall suicide rate for those between 45 and 54 years old is lower than that of places such as Hong Kong, Japan and Switzerland, said Community Development, Youth and Sports Minister Vivian Balakrishnan.

Nonetheless, the rates reflected a "worrying trend" as each suicide was a "tragic loss" for both the family and community, he said in a written reply to a question posed by Hougang MP Low Thia Khiang.

Dr Balakrishnan also revealed that an Inter-Ministry Working Group on Mental Health, chaired by Ministry of Health permanent secretary Yong Ying-I, had been formed to study ways to improve the mental and emotional resilience of Singaporeans.

"I don't find the rates for those in their 40s and 50s surprising," said Dr Ang Yong Guan, chairman of the Action Group for Mental Illness. "What's paradoxical is the correlation that when the economy does well, the suicide rates go up."

He added: "It could be because people start seeing those around them becoming more successful, so they start to feel affected. This is unlike a recession, where everyone does not do well."

Dr Balakrishnan also noted that each suicide case "is unique" and often accompanied by a combination of problems. "Contributing factors such as personality traits, mental health and socio-cultural environment may also play a role."

To mark Suicide Awareness Week, which is held between Sept 22 and 29, the Samaritans of Singapore (SOS) is organising two forums that will address issues like how to help someone with suicidal tendencies.

SOS' latest annual report said that more women attempted suicide than men. Chinese women, married and between 20 and 30 years old, appeared to be the most vulnerable. Marital and family relationship problems were the main reasons.

Meanwhile, the Government will pump more resources into mental health promotion and treatment. The Health Promotion Board, with other public agencies and the private sector, is expanding such programmes, said Dr Balakrishnan. - TODAY/ym

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1. Russia 38.7
2. Lithuania 38.6
3. Belarus 35.1
4. Kazakhstan 28.8
5. Slovenia 28.1
6. Hungary 27.7
7. Estonia 27.3
8. Ukraine 26.1
9. Latvia 26.0
10. Japan 2002 23.8
11. Sri Lanka 21.6
12. Belgium 21.1
13. Finland 20.6
14. Croatia 19.6
15. Serbia and Montenegro 9.3
16. Switzerland 18.4
17. Cuba 18.3
18. Austria 17.9
19. Republic of Korea 17.9
20. France 17.6
21. Republic of Moldova 17.2
22. Czech Republic 16.9
23. Poland 15.5
24. Hong Kong SAR, China 15.3
25. Romania 14.1
26. Bulgaria 14.0
27. China (selected areas) 13.9
28. Denmark 13.6
29. Germany 13.5
30. Sweden 13.4
31. Slovakia 13.3
32. Seychelles 13.2
33. Australia 12.7
34. Ireland 12.7
35. Iceland 2.6
36. Canada 11.9
37. Mauritius 11.9
38. New Zealand 11.9
39. Suriname 11.9
40. Bosnia and Herzegovina 11.8
41. Portugal 11.7
42. Trinidad and Tobago 11.6
43. Luxembourg 10.9
44. Norway 10.9
45. India 10.7
46. United States 11.0
47. Guyana 10.5
48. Uruguay 10.3
49. Kyrgyzstan 9.6
50. Singapore 9.5
51. Netherlands 9.2
52. Puerto Rico 8.7
53. Turkmenistan 8.6
54. Spain 28.2
55. El Salvador 7.9
56. Zimbabwe 7.9
57. Saint Lucia 7.5
58. Republic of Macedonia 7.4
59. Italy 7.1
60. United Kingdom 6.9
61. Barbados 6.5
62. Belize 6.5
63. Argentina 6.4
64. Israel 6.3
65. Uzbekistan 6.2
66. Costa Rica 5.9
67. Chile 5.7
68. Venezuela 5.1
69. Malta 5.0
70. Ecuador 4.8
71. Brazil 4.1
72. Albania 4.0
73. Thailand 4 4
74. Panama 3.8

alwaysdisturbed SG

maybe if they stop increasing stuff, the numbers might drop.

kilua SG

Doesnt Dr Ang know the wages of this group of people,especially those uncle who cannot speak english, has been depressed greatly despite the boom in economy? Their lack of ability to speak English well makes it difficult to adapt?
And will these people have enough for retirement or medical bills?

de_middle SG

He added: "It could be because people start seeing those around them becoming more successful, so they start to feel affected. This is unlike a recession, where everyone does not do well."

err, its mentioned Neutral

justcooler SG

Well the ministers are thinking, if we can best everything internationally why not also be best this one.

I strongly believe this achievable

kilua SG

err, its not mentioned. That sentence only suggest these 40-50s cant cope with others doing well and feel affected. Little is mentioned about them experiencing harder times due the larger influx of immigrants and lack of savings.

If his theory was correct, why don't we see 20-30 years or other age groups committing suicide because others are doing well?

If the suicide rate was more uniform across ages, then there is more support for his statement.

mistyblue SG

maybe a lot are not reported, or some criteria is used and therefore a large number of suciders are excluded.

Never trust the numbers unless the assumptions and details of the study is made and even then there are always unreported cases.

So don't jump to conclusion and make such statements and be proud of these kinds of reports.

Didn't anyone noticed that the ST these few days keep reporting about people who lived up till 100+ years old when LHL talks about pushing back CPF draw down age and retirement age etc. Wah! How come never publicize all the high number of people who die young, or who die before even taking a single cent or as most of us, will only live to about 70s only.

the Bear SG

can someone tell me why when Zimbabwe is in total political, social, economic and financial meltdown with inflation rate hovering around 5 digits, the suicide rate is still lower than Singapore?

and a few other more 'messed up' places like Thailand and Israel?

de_middle SG

yup , maybe so..classified as unnatural death after all Confused

<Precious> SG

This is no reason to keep squeezing us wad........ Rolling Eyes

A major reason for such low suicide figures is because the numbers for emigration may be increasing! Mr. Green

ndmmxiaomayi SG

That's just the average rate. If one were to compile the rates specifically for each age group, the numbers are horrifying.

Numbers will just be numbers, average even more so. Average doesn't represent everything and is often affected by everything.

Gazelle SG

For the benefit of discussion, I think we should focus on comparing singapore with developed countries.

What surprises me is that countries like countries like switzerland, france, germany, belgium etc, have such high suicide rate.

de_middle SG

Neutral Neutral Neutral

mistyblue SG

Why big countries has higher suicide rates might be because they simply have more people.

Just as why the cream of the crop from USA, China and any large size country will be better than the cream of the crop from Singapore... Because they have more people in a larger country. Its a number game.

Don't read too much into numbers especially distilled ones where you do not know the basis of such numbers and how they arise.

Gazelle SG

I am afraid that those figures are based on suicide rate per 100,000 people per year, hence size of nation will not distort the figures as what you are hoping for.

HyperFocal SG

Middle-age suicide rate up: report
By Lee U-Wen, TODAY | Posted: 29 August 2007 1001 hrs

SINGAPORE: The figures point to a worrying trend - more men in their 40s and women in their 50s have committed suicide since 2003.

In that year, there were 14 suicides for every 100,000 men in their 40s, according to government figures released yesterday. This increased to 19 per 100,000 last year.

For women, there were eight suicides per 100,000 of those in their 50s in 2003. The figure rose to 13 per 100,000 last year.

According to earlier media reports, 419 people took their lives last year, up from 346 in 2003.

Still, Singapore's overall suicide rate for those between 45 and 54 years old is lower than that of places such as Hong Kong, Japan and Switzerland, said Community Development, Youth and Sports Minister Vivian Balakrishnan.

Nonetheless, the rates reflected a "worrying trend" as each suicide was a "tragic loss" for both the family and community, he said in a written reply to a question posed by Hougang MP Low Thia Khiang.

Dr Balakrishnan also revealed that an Inter-Ministry Working Group on Mental Health, chaired by Ministry of Health permanent secretary Yong Ying-I, had been formed to study ways to improve the mental and emotional resilience of Singaporeans.

"I don't find the rates for those in their 40s and 50s surprising," said Dr Ang Yong Guan, chairman of the Action Group for Mental Illness. "What's paradoxical is the correlation that when the economy does well, the suicide rates go up."

He added: "It could be because people start seeing those around them becoming more successful, so they start to feel affected. This is unlike a recession, where everyone does not do well."

Dr Balakrishnan also noted that each suicide case "is unique" and often accompanied by a combination of problems. "Contributing factors such as personality traits, mental health and socio-cultural environment may also play a role."

To mark Suicide Awareness Week, which is held between Sept 22 and 29, the Samaritans of Singapore (SOS) is organising two forums that will address issues like how to help someone with suicidal tendencies.

SOS' latest annual report said that more women attempted suicide than men. Chinese women, married and between 20 and 30 years old, appeared to be the most vulnerable. Marital and family relationship problems were the main reasons.

Meanwhile, the Government will pump more resources into mental health promotion and treatment. The Health Promotion Board, with other public agencies and the private sector, is expanding such programmes, said Dr Balakrishnan. - TODAY/ym

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They should interview the family or next of kin of the suicide victim... and see what they have to say about the WHY factors...

HyperFocal SG

It is not based on Size of Population, but rather on the INCREASING RATE/S of suicide year on year or decade by decade...

Gazelle SG

Originally posted by HyperFocal:
[b]Middle-age suicide rate up: report
By Lee U-Wen, TODAY | Posted: 29 August 2007 1001 hrs

SINGAPORE: The figures point to a worrying trend - more men in their 40s and women in their 50s have committed suicide since 2003.

In that year, there were 14 suicides for every 100,000 men in their 40s, according to government figures released yesterday. This increased to 19 per 100,000 last year.

For women, there were eight suicides per 100,000 of those in their 50s in 2003. The figure rose to 13 per 100,000 last year.

According to earlier media reports, 419 people took their lives last year, up from 346 in 2003.

Still, Singapore's overall suicide rate for those between 45 and 54 years old is lower than that of places such as Hong Kong, Japan and Switzerland, said Community Development, Youth and Sports Minister Vivian Balakrishnan.

Nonetheless, the rates reflected a "worrying trend" as each suicide was a "tragic loss" for both the family and community, he said in a written reply to a question posed by Hougang MP Low Thia Khiang.

Dr Balakrishnan also revealed that an Inter-Ministry Working Group on Mental Health, chaired by Ministry of Health permanent secretary Yong Ying-I, had been formed to study ways to improve the mental and emotional resilience of Singaporeans.

"I don't find the rates for those in their 40s and 50s surprising," said Dr Ang Yong Guan, chairman of the Action Group for Mental Illness. "What's paradoxical is the correlation that when the economy does well, the suicide rates go up."

He added: "It could be because people start seeing those around them becoming more successful, so they start to feel affected. This is unlike a recession, where everyone does not do well."

Dr Balakrishnan also noted that each suicide case "is unique" and often accompanied by a combination of problems. "Contributing factors such as personality traits, mental health and socio-cultural environment may also play a role."

To mark Suicide Awareness Week, which is held between Sept 22 and 29, the Samaritans of Singapore (SOS) is organising two forums that will address issues like how to help someone with suicidal tendencies.

SOS' latest annual report said that more women attempted suicide than men. Chinese women, married and between 20 and 30 years old, appeared to be the most vulnerable. Marital and family relationship problems were the main reasons.

Meanwhile, the Government will pump more resources into mental health promotion and treatment. The Health Promotion Board, with other public agencies and the private sector, is expanding such programmes, said Dr Balakrishnan. - TODAY/ym

[/b]

I dont quite understand why he is posting the same article that has already been posted right from the beginning. Laughing obviously he doesnt read both of them before posting..haha..

carrotsoup SG

Welcome to the Golden Period.

Atobe SG

Originally posted by Gazelle:

I am afraid that those figures are based on suicide rate per 100,000 people per year, hence size of nation will not distort the figures as what you are hoping for.

Is there not something odd in this direction of thinking ?

If a population has 1,000,000,000 - is it not obvious that there will be more contemplating some similar actions to a population of 100,000 ?

The standard of measure using 100,000 as a group is only a convenient form of comparison - does it regulate the base number that contribute the input ?