Suicide Rates, Social Capital, and Depressive Symptoms among Older Adults in Japan: An Ecological Study

Tsuneo Nakamura, Taishi Tsuji, Yuiko Nagamine, Kazushige Ide, Seungwon Jeong, Yasuhiro Miyaguni and Katsunori Kondo
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Tsuneo Nakamura: Department of Advanced Preventive Medicine, Graduate School of Medical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chiba University, Chiba 260-0856, Japan
Taishi Tsuji: Department of Social Preventive Medical Sciences, Center for Preventive Medical Sciences, Chiba University, Chiba 260-0856, Japan
Yuiko Nagamine: Department of Social Preventive Medical Sciences, Center for Preventive Medical Sciences, Chiba University, Chiba 260-0856, Japan
Kazushige Ide: Department of Advanced Preventive Medicine, Graduate School of Medical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chiba University, Chiba 260-0856, Japan
Seungwon Jeong: Department of Community Welfare, Faculty of Health Sciences, Niimi University, Okayama 718-8585, Japan
Yasuhiro Miyaguni: Department of Gerontological Evaluation, Center for Gerontology and Social Science, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Aichi 474-8511, Japan
Katsunori Kondo: Department of Social Preventive Medical Sciences, Center for Preventive Medical Sciences, Chiba University, Chiba 260-0856, Japan

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 24, 1-13

Abstract: Depression is considered the primary risk factor for older people’s suicide. When considering suicide measures, it is necessary to clarify the relationship between depressive symptoms, social capital, and suicide rates. Therefore, we aimed to clarify the relationship between community-level social capital, depressive symptoms, and suicide rates among older people in Japan. We analyzed the data gathered from 63,026 men and 72,268 women aged 65 years and older, totaling 135,294 subjects in 81 municipalities with a population of over 100,000 participants in the 2013 Sixth Long-Term Care Needs Survey and another survey conducted by Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES) in 2013 including the same question items as the survey in Japan. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the male suicide standardized mortality ratio (SMR) was positively correlated with depressive symptoms (B = 2.318, p = 0.002), and received emotional support (B = −2.622, p = 0.014) had a negative correlation with the male suicide SMR. In older males particularly, the received emotional support in the community was independently associated with the suicide rate. Therefore, fostering social support in a community could act as a countermeasure to suicide among older males in Japan.

Keywords: older people in Japan; depressive symptoms; long-term care needs survey; social support; social participation; suicide rates; suicide countermeasure (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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