부산대학교 도서관

Despite tremendous variability across countries, suicide rates among the elderly, especially elderly males, remain globally the highest. On average, suicide rates increase with age, with the global suicide rate among those aged 75 and over being approximately three times higher than the rate among youth under 25 years of age. This chapter gives an overview of the epidemiology of fatal and non-fatal suicidal behaviour among people over 65 years of age on the five continents. The purpose is to facilitate a better appreciation of the extent of the differences among nations (where possible data from continents are provided), collectively with an example from a country from each of the continents: South Africa, China, Australia, Italy, and Brazil.