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Effects of age and gender on elderly suicide rates in Catholic and Orthodox countries: an inadvertent neglect?
Author(s) -
Pritchard Colin,
Baldwin David
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
international journal of geriatric psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.28
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1099-1166
pISSN - 0885-6230
DOI - 10.1002/1099-1166(200010)15:10<904::aid-gps216>3.0.co;2-o
Subject(s) - neglect , psychiatry , psychology , suicide prevention , gerontology , poison control , medicine , demography , medical emergency , sociology
When compared to suicide rates in the general population, it may be expected that elderly suicide rates would be lower in Catholic and Orthodox societies than in non‐Catholic or non‐Orthodox countries because of religious affiliations and extended family traditions. National suicide rates in the general population were compared with rates in the sub‐population of those aged over 75 years. Proportionately, there are significantly higher suicide rates in elderly men in Catholic and Orthodox countries, compared to rates in other countries, with a trend for similar findings among women. There may be important implications on health and social policy and clinical practice in the efforts to reduce suicide rates among elderly people. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.