Abstract
Introduction Charcoal burning suicides emerged in Hong Kong in 1997. Since then, it has increased rapidly to 321 deaths in 2003 and has remained in the community despite its reduction in number. Previous studies examining the trend of charcoal burning suicides in Hong Kong are outdated, and limited research has identified and compared the patterns and characteristics of charcoal burning suicides with other suicides across time. The objective of this study is to demonstrate the evolution of charcoal burning suicides in Hong Kong from 1997 to 2018.
Methods Data of the suicide deaths (1997–2018) and detailed Coroner’s Court reports of suicide cases (2002–2017) were obtained. Graphical methods were employed to depict the overall, gender- and age-specific trends of suicide rates and the distributions of suicide methods across time. Age and gender distributions of charcoal burning and non-charcoal burning users across time were compared. Bivariate and multiple logistic regression analyses were conducted to compare the characteristics between charcoal burning and non-charcoal burning suicides in different phases of charcoal burning in Hong Kong.
Results The rate of charcoal burning suicides dropped from the peak in 2003 and remained steady until 2016. A slight rebound was observed from 2016 to 2018. The age pattern of charcoal burning suicides has been changing, and signs of spreading to the older age groups were observed. Compared to non-charcoal burning users, charcoal burning users were younger and male, had fewer physical and psychiatric illnesses, lived alone in public housing, less likely to be married, and often experienced financial, relationship, and family problems.
Conclusion Charcoal burning users had a distinct profile, and it remained consistent across time. There was a potential age and cohort effect on people who died by charcoal burning. It is difficult if not impossible to eradicate charcoal burning suicides in Hong Kong. Multidisciplinary community efforts are required to ensure effective charcoal burning suicide prevention.
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Men, V.Y., Yeung, C.Y., Yip, P.S.F. (2022). The Evolution of Charcoal Burning Suicides in Hong Kong, 1997–2018. In: Pompili, M. (eds) Suicide Risk Assessment and Prevention. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42003-1_74
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42003-1_74
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