Attempted suicide by Chinese elderly in Hong Kong

There is little information on attempted suicide in the elderly, especially among Chinese populations. Fifty-five elderly with suicidal attempts seen in a psychiatric unit in Hong Kong over a 2 1/2 year period were studied. The risk of suicidal attempt remained high after age 75 and only declined after 85. In contrast to western societies, self-injury was more common than self-poisoning. About half of the patients suffered from a mood disorder but very few had dementia. At follow-up 1 1/2-4 years after the suicidal attempt, the rate of repetition was 3.6% and the rate of completed suicide was 5.5%.

A profile of Chinese alcoholics in Singapore

Eighty-five Chinese alcoholics, referred consecutively to the psychiatric unit of a general hospital, were assessed with the Alcohol Problems Questionnaire (APQ) and the Severity of Alcohol Dependence Questionnaire (SADQ). There were 72 men (mean age 44.3, SD 13.9) and 13 women (mean age 36.7, SD 11.6). The common alcohol-related problems reported concerned physical health, finance, work, friends, depression and marriage. The SADQ score for men was 19.6 (SD 7.8) and women 15.6 (SD 8.4). Highly significant Pearson product moment correlations were found between the SADQ score and APQ subscales in physical health, depression and finance; but there was no correlation with children or legal (police) problems. The strongly positive correlation between the SADQ and APQ scores were independent of the quantity of alcohol consumption. Female drinkers had more depressive symptoms than males, but there was no significant difference in alcohol-related problems pertaining to physical health, work, marriage, finance or friends for male or female drinkers.

A comparison between male and female parasuicides in Hong Kong

The epidemiological, social and clinical characteristics of 259 male and 475 female parasuicides in Hong Kong were compared. The majority are young adults, with an overall female: male ratio of 1.83. Compared to male subjects, females are more likely to be married or cohabiting, of higher social-economic status, born in places in the Far East apart from Mainland China, and of lower educational level. Their parasuicidal acts are more often motivated by interpersonal difficulties, especially with spouses or friends of the opposite sex, and take the form of self-poisoning. Male subjects on the other hand are more often single, immigrants from Mainland China, and of lower socio-economic status. Their problems are more often personal, and they are more likely to employ physical methods in their parasuicidal acts. In both sexes, age specific parasuicidal rates showed a second peak in senescence. Both the overall prevalence of psychiatric disorders and the rate of repeated parasuicide 2 years following the index admissions were low. The implications of these findings are explored.