Travel distance to hospital is associated with self-harm hospital presentation but not suicide: A small-area study from New Taipei City, Taiwan

Background: Travel distance to hospital emergency departments (EDs) may be a more influential factor in the spatial variation in hospital-presenting self-harm than for suicide deaths. Aims: We investigated the associations of travel distance to the nearest ED with self-harm hospital presentations and suicides in a large city in Taiwan. Method: Data for self-harm and suicide were extracted from Taiwan’s National […]

Exploring the link between the increase in high-rise buildings and youth jumping suicide in Taiwan: A longitudinal study

Introduction From 2010 to 2021, suicide rates in 15–24 age group in Taiwan increased by 70%, with jumping being the most common method in 2021. We examined the link between the rise in youth suicides and the increase in high-rise buildings during this period. Methods Spearman’s correlation coefficients and negative binomial mixed-effects models were employed […]

Association between endometriosis and mental disorders including psychiatric disorders, suicide, and all-cause mortality: A nationwide population-based cohort study in Taiwan

Objective: A multitude of previous studies has substantiated that endometriosis correlated highly with psychiatric health. This study aims to investigate the association between endometriosis and psychiatric health. Methods: Utilizing the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan, 100,770 enrolled participants, including 20,154 patients with endometriosis and 80,616 in the control group (1:4), matched for age, and index […]

Psychological disorders and suicide attempts in youths during the pre-COVID and post-COVID era in a Taiwan pediatric emergency department

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on pediatric patients, increasing their vulnerability to psychological fragility. The aim of this study was to investigate the epidemiology and clinical spectrum of pediatric psychological fragility and suicide attempts in the emergency department (ED) before and after the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak. Methods: A total of 340 […]

Suicide misconceptions and attitudes toward suicide prevention measures in Taiwan: A national survey study

Background: Debunking suicide misconceptions is an important suicide prevention measure. Few studies on suicide misconceptions and their correlates have been conducted in East Asia, where suicide is known to be more permissible. Aims: We investigated the prevalence and associated characteristics of suicide misconceptions in Taiwan. Whether holding suicide misconceptions was associated with reduced support for governmental suicide prevention […]

Dynamic reciprocal relationships between traditional media reports, social media postings, and youth suicide in Taiwan between 2012 and 2021

Rising social media use over the past decade has been linked with increasing suicide rates among young people. Previous studies that assessed the impact of social media on suicide have typically focused on single social media platforms, such as Twitter, and assumed unidirectional associations, where social media posts leads to suicide. Our study focused on […]

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on calls to a national suicide prevention hotline in Taiwan: An analysis of time trend and characteristics of calls

We investigated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on call volumes and call characteristics using data from a national crisis helpline. Data were extracted for 215,066 calls to Taiwan’s national suicide prevention hotline (January 2018–May 2020). We used negative binomial regression to investigate changes in the weekly number of calls during the early period of […]

Space-time self-harm and suicide clusters in two cities in Taiwan

Aims: Suicidal acts may cluster in time and space and lead to community concerns about further imitative suicidal episodes. Although suicide clusters have been researched in previous studies, less is known about the clustering of non-fatal suicidal behaviour (self-harm). Furthermore, most previous studies used crude temporal and spatial information, e.g., numbers aggregated by month and residence […]

Media representation of gender patterns of suicide in Taiwan

Background: Extensive media reporting of suicide events has been indicated as a contributing factor to the upsurge in suicide rates in Taiwan in the past decade. Aims: The study compares gender differences in sociodemographic profiles and method of suicide selectively reported in the newspapers and all suicide cases registered in official death records. It also identifies gender differences […]

The economic and potential years of life lost from suicide in Taiwan, 1997-2007

Background: Taiwan has experienced a marked increase in the suicide rate in the last decade. However, the socioeconomic burden and impact to the community has not been adequately assessed. Aims: This study aimed to estimate the social and economic burden of premature mortality from suicide in Taiwan in 1997-2007. Methods: The suicide rate, potential years of life lost […]

The increase in suicide risk in older adults in Taiwan during the COVID-19 outbreak

Background Studies from Western countries indicated that older adults were more resilient than younger ones to deteriorating mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. As high late-life suicide rates have been reported in East Asia, it is possible that the pandemic impact might differ between East and West. We investigated the pandemic impact on age-specific suicide […]

Brief cognitive-based psychosocial intervention and case management for suicide attempters discharged from the emergency department in Taipei, Taiwan: A randomized controlled study

Objective We examined the effectiveness of brief cognitive-based psychotherapy plus standard case management in the prevention of further suicide attempts, clinical severity, and treatment adherence in a randomized clinical trial compared with standard case management. Method Among five hundred and ninety-seven patients presenting with suicide attempts, 147 participants were included. They were randomized into two […]

The risk of suicide in patients with critical illness: A population-based study in Taiwan

The authors investigated retrospectively the association between critical illness and risk of suicide attempts. The data are from Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Research Database. Propensity score matching, multivariable models, Kaplan–Meier analysis, and competing risk analysis were used to explore this association. The authors found that patients having an critical illness were associated with increased risk of suicide attempts after […]

Differences in reactions to media reporting of a celebrity suicide between emotionally distressed and nondistressed individuals in Taiwan

Background: The differences in emotional reactions toward media reports of celebrity suicides between distressed and non-distressed individuals have rarely been explored. Aim: We aimed to explore differences in reaction patterns to the news coverage of a celebrity’s suicide between distressed and nondistressed individuals in Taiwan. Method: We conducted an Internet survey to assess the impact of the news coverage of […]

Method-specific suicide rates and accessibility of means: A small-area analysis in Taipei City, Taiwan

Background: Few studies have investigated whether means accessibility is related to the spatial distribution of suicide. Aims: To examine the hypothesis that indicators of the accessibility to specific suicide methods were associated with method-specific suicide rates in Taipei City, Taiwan. Method: Smoothed standardized mortality ratios for method-specific suicide rates across 432 neighborhoods and their associations with means accessibility indicators were estimated using […]

Perceptions towards charcoal-burning suicide and the surge of this lethal method in Taiwan

Objective: Whether sociocultural perceptions of charcoal-burning suicide have influenced its rapid increase in prevalence is unclear. We aimed to explore perceptions of Taiwan’s general population regarding charcoal-burning suicide, their personal belief in life after death, and related feelings of thoughts associated with those who attempt charcoal-burning suicide. Methods: An online web-based survey, focussing on sociocultural attitudes towards […]

Suicidality among gay and bisexual men in Taiwan: Its relationship with sexuality and gender role characteristics, homophobic bullying victimization, and social support

This study aimed to examine the associations of suicidality in emerging adulthood with time of coming out, gender role nonconformity, sexual orientation, traditional and cyber homophobic bullying victimization, and family and peer support during childhood in gay and bisexual men in Taiwan. The frequency of “experiencing suicide ideation” and “attempting suicide” in the past year […]

Interpersonal-psychological theory, alexithymia, and personality predict suicide ideation among maladjusted soldiers in Taiwan.

This case–control study enrolled 226 maladjusted soldiers and 229 controls to investigate the impact of the interpersonal–psychological theory of suicide, alexithymia, personality, and childhood trauma on suicide risk among Taiwanese soldiers. Assessments included the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, Eysenck Personality Inventory, Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview, and Brief Symptom Rating Scale. In addition to thwarted belongingness and perceived […]

Internet use and web communication networks, sources of social support, and forms of suicidal and nonsuicidal self-injury among adolescents: Different patterns between genders.

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The association of trends in charcoal-burning suicide with Google search and newspaper reporting in Taiwan: A time series analysis.

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Analysis of the barriers of mental distress disclosure in medical inpatients in Taiwan.

Disclosure of mental distress to physicians is important for mental illness identification, early referrals and proper treatment to prevent suicide. Little is known about what affects mental health communication in the clinical settings in the Chinese societies. We interviewed a series of consecutive inpatients from two medical wards of a general hospital in northern Taiwan. […]

Child sexual abuse and its relationship with health risk behaviors among adolescents and young adults in Taipei.

This study explores the association of child sexual abuse (CSA) with subsequent health risk behaviors among a cross-section of 4354 adolescents and young adults surveyed in urban and rural Taipei. Descriptive analysis and logistic regressions were employed. The overall proportion of CSA was 5.15%, with more females (6.14%) than males (4.16%) likely to experience CSA. […]

Is case management effective for long-lasting suicide prevention? A community cohort study in Northern Taiwan.

Journal held in CSP Library.