Suicide and mental disorders in Asia

Abstract

Sixty one percent of the suicides in the world occur in Asia. The suicide rate of Asia has been calculated as 12.6/100,000. This is an underestimate as data is unavailable for 20.7% of the Asian population. Population-based studies on suicide in Asia reveal that 68–97% had diagnosable psychiatric disorders. Only 35–40% of suicides in India and China received the diagnosis of depression. The association between depression and suicide is less pronounced in Asia. Demographic and socio-cultural risk factors for suicide in Asia are different from Western countries but clinical factors appear to be more similar than different. Suicide is a major public and mental health problem in Asia and there is an urgent need to develop effective national suicide prevention strategy in Asian countries.