A Study on the Degree of Suicidal Ideation in Old People

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the degree of suicidal ideation in the elderly and provide the basic data for finding intervention methods in order to prevent the aged from committing a suicide. The subjects who participated in this study were 1,656 individuals aged 65 years who had participated in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2009). As research methodology, this study identified the experience of suicidal ideation among subjects and analyzed the degree of suicidal ideation depending on general characteristics, living habits, subjective health characteristics, and mental health state. As a result, it was found that the number of the elderly who had thought that he wanted to die over the past one year was 458 individuals (27.7%). Female in terms of gender and those in their 70s in terms of age thought about committing a suicide the most. Also, the lower the education level, unless they involve in economic activities, and unless they have their spouses, the higher they tend to think of committing suicide. Suicidal ideation depending on subjective health characteristics was higher in the group who recognized that their health status was bad and the group who felt pain and inconvenience, and suicidal ideation depending on mental health state was higher in the group who felt most stressed, the group who experienced depression, and the group who did not take adequate sleep. Also, suicidal ideation was higher in the group who had weight change for the past one year. Taken together, it is suggested that it is necessary to have intervention measures for improving the level of subjective health recognition among the elderly and reduce their pain and inconvenience as well as for improving their mental health in order to prevent their suicide.