Suicide and Unemployment Rate in Taiwan, a Population-Based Study, 1978-2006

This study explored the association between the suicide rate & the unemployment rate in Taiwan. All 74,064 suicides by those aged 15 & older during 1978-2006 were included. Time series models were used to analyze the monthly age-standardized suicide rate by gender & age subgroup. The association between age-standardized suicide & the unemployment rate was comparatively high for males & those aged 45-64 years. Among males & those aged 45-64 years, a 1% increase in the absolute unemployment rate was associated with a 4.9% increase in the relative age-standardized suicide rate in the monthly average from 1978-2006. (25 refs.) JA