MyMedR

The mental health of Singapore. I. Suicide

MURPHY HB

Med J Malaya, 1954 Sep;9(1):1-45.

PMID: 13213452

Matched MeSH terms: Suicide/statistics & numerical data*

Cutting: rare in Kelantan (Malaysia)

Pridmore S, Yaacob MJ

Aust N Z J Psychiatry, 2008 Oct;42(10):909.

PMID: 18788133

Matched MeSH terms: Suicide/statistics & numerical data*

Suicide among the youth in Malaysia: What do we know?

Bahar N, Ismail WS, Hussain N, Haniff J, Bujang MA, Hamid AM, et al.

Asia Pac Psychiatry, 2015 Jun;7(2):223-9.

PMID: 25367507 DOI: 10.1111/appy.12162

This article aims to study the pattern of youth suicide cases in Malaysia, following which preventive actions can then be planned and practiced to reduce these suicide cases.

Matched MeSH terms: Suicide/statistics & numerical data*

Fulltext Completed suicides and self-harm in Malaysia: a systematic review

Armitage CJ, Panagioti M, Abdul Rahim W, Rowe R, O'Connor RC

Gen Hosp Psychiatry, 2015 Mar-Apr;37(2):153-65.

PMID: 25636361 DOI: 10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2014.12.002

Most of the research into suicide and self-harm has been conducted in the United States and Europe, yet the volume of research does not reflect the distribution of suicide globally, with Asia accounting for up to 60% of all suicides. The present study systematically reviews the literature to assess the prevalence and correlates of suicidal acts in Malaysia in Southeast Asia.

Matched MeSH terms: Suicide/statistics & numerical data*

In response to "suicide and ethnicity in Malaysia"

Babu GR

Am J Forensic Med Pathol, 2011 Jun;32(2):e15.

PMID: 21540724 DOI: 10.1097/PAF.0b013e318219c81b

Matched MeSH terms: Suicide/statistics & numerical data*

Fulltext Profile of in-patient suicides in two hospitals in Malaysia

Zain AM

Med J Malaysia, 1991 Jun;46(2):171-6.

PMID: 1839422

A study of completed in-patient suicides at the University Hospital Kuala Lumpur (UHKL) and Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta (HBUK) between 1st January 1967 to 31st December 1987 were conducted. Records of completed in-patient suicides during the period were exhaustively studied. Only 18 cases were from UHKL and 23 cases were from HBUK. It was found that the suicide patients were mainly young Chinese males from the lower socio economic group. The main reasons for suicide were interpersonal conflicts and physical illness. Alcohol was not an important factor unlike patients in the West.. Suicidal intent was also important. Many of the suicides were committed during the early hours of the morning and they usually occurred at inaccessible places. The method was strongly influenced by availability. To the best knowledge of the author, this is the first study of in-patient suicides in Malaysia.

Matched MeSH terms: Suicide/statistics & numerical data*

Fulltext Suicide in the elderly in Malaysia

Rahimi R, Ali N, Md Noor S, Mahmood MS, Zainun KA

Malays J Pathol, 2015 Dec;37(3):259-63.

PMID: 26712672 MyJurnal

Suicidal feelings and a sense of hopelessness have been regarded as part of the ageing process more so in the context of being elderly and having physical difficulties. As older adults are the fastest growing population in the world, suicides among this population is also expected to increase. The authors retrospectively reviewed all cases recorded by the National Suicide Registry Malaysia (NSRM) for the year 2009. Suicide in victims 65 years and older totaled 23 in number and accounted for 7.1% of all suicides. All the cases were autopsied. The case records were retrospectively analyzed with respect to age, gender, ethnicity and method of death. Comparisons were also made between males and females, levels of education, presence of stressor and life events antecedent to suicide. The ages of these suicide victims ranged from 65 to 94 years. Men comprised almost 70% of the cases. The average age of the victim was 73 years. Hanging was the most common method of suicide, accounting for 56.5% of the cases. Other methods included jumping from height (13.1%), exposure to unspecified chemicals (13.1% ), jumping/lying before moving object (4.3%), exposure to pesticides (4.3%) and injuring oneself using sharp object (4.3%). Death of a loved one, legal problems, financial problems and physical illness were the stressors identified contributing to the suicide act.

Matched MeSH terms: Suicide/statistics & numerical data*

Pattern of suicides in 2009: data from the National Suicide Registry Malaysia

Ali NH, Zainun KA, Bahar N, Haniff J, Hamid AM, Bujang MA, et al.

Asia Pac Psychiatry, 2014 Jun;6(2):217-25.

PMID: 23857761 DOI: 10.1111/j.1758-5872.2012.00227.x

The National Suicide Registry Malaysia (NSRM) is a nationwide system that captures data on completed suicides in Malaysia from all forensic departments under the purview of the Ministry of Health Malaysia.

Matched MeSH terms: Suicide/statistics & numerical data*

[Stability of the "amok runner syndrome"]

Adler L, Marx D, Apel H, Wolfersdorf M, Hajak G

Fortschr Neurol Psychiatr, 2006 Oct;74(10):582-90.

PMID: 16586259

Running amok is considered a rare but dangerous act of violence which has been investigated predominantly on a case by case basis. German-wide data on amok cases covering the decades 1980 - 1989 and 1991 - 2000 were used to perform the first epidemiological study world-wide on the stability of socio-demographic, criminological and psychiatric variables of amok behaviour.

Matched MeSH terms: Suicide/statistics & numerical data

Recent trends in elderly suicide rates in a multi-ethnic Asian city

Kua EH, Ko SM, Ng TP

Int J Geriatr Psychiatry, 2003 Jun;18(6):533-6.

PMID: 12789675

There are a few reports on the trends of elderly suicide rates in western countries but none from Asian countries.

Matched MeSH terms: Suicide/statistics & numerical data

The beliefs in the inheritance of risk factors for suicide scale (BIRFSS): cross-cultural validation in Estonia, Malaysia, Romania, the United Kingdom, and the United States

Voracek M, Loibl LM, Swami V, Vintilă M, Kõlves K, Sinniah D, et al.

Suicide Life Threat Behav, 2008 Dec;38(6):688-98.

PMID: 19152299 DOI: 10.1521/suli.2008.38.6.688

The genetics of suicide is increasingly recognized and relevant for mental health literacy, but actual beliefs may lag behind current knowledge. We examined such beliefs in student samples (total N = 686) from Estonia, Malaysia, Romania, the United Kingdom, and the United States with the Beliefs in the Inheritance of Risk Factors for Suicide Scale. Cultural effects were small, those of key demographics nil. Several facets of construct validity were demonstrated. Marked differences in perceived plausibility of evidence about the genetics of suicide according to research design, observed in all samples, may be of general interest for investigating lay theories of abnormal behavior and communicating behavioral and psychiatric genetic research findings.

Matched MeSH terms: Suicide/statistics & numerical data*

Fulltext Regional changes in charcoal-burning suicide rates in East/Southeast Asia from 1995 to 2011: a time trend analysis

Chang SS, Chen YY, Yip PS, Lee WJ, Hagihara A, Gunnell D

PLoS Med, 2014 Apr;11(4):e1001622.

PMID: 24691071 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1001622

BACKGROUND: Suicides by carbon monoxide poisoning resulting from burning barbecue charcoal reached epidemic levels in Hong Kong and Taiwan within 5 y of the first reported cases in the early 2000s. The objectives of this analysis were to investigate (i) time trends and regional patterns of charcoal-burning suicide throughout East/Southeast Asia during the time period 1995-2011 and (ii) whether any rises in use of this method were associated with increases in overall suicide rates. Sex- and age-specific trends over time were also examined to identify the demographic groups showing the greatest increases in charcoal-burning suicide rates across different countries.

METHODS AND FINDINGS: We used data on suicides by gases other than domestic gas for Hong Kong, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore in the years 1995/1996-2011. Similar data for Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand were also extracted but were incomplete. Graphical and joinpoint regression analyses were used to examine time trends in suicide, and negative binomial regression analysis to study sex- and age-specific patterns. In 1995/1996, charcoal-burning suicides accounted for <1% of all suicides in all study countries, except in Japan (5%), but they increased to account for 13%, 24%, 10%, 7%, and 5% of all suicides in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and Singapore, respectively, in 2011. Rises were first seen in Hong Kong after 1998 (95% CI 1997-1999), followed by Singapore in 1999 (95% CI 1998-2001), Taiwan in 2000 (95% CI 1999-2001), Japan in 2002 (95% CI 1999-2003), and the Republic of Korea in 2007 (95% CI 2006-2008). No marked increases were seen in Malaysia, the Philippines, or Thailand. There was some evidence that charcoal-burning suicides were associated with an increase in overall suicide rates in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan (for females), but not in Japan (for males), the Republic of Korea, and Singapore. Rates of change in charcoal-burning suicide rate did not differ by sex/age group in Taiwan and Hong Kong but appeared to be greatest in people aged 15-24 y in Japan and people aged 25-64 y in the Republic of Korea. The lack of specific codes for charcoal-burning suicide in the International Classification of Diseases and variations in coding practice in different countries are potential limitations of this study.

CONCLUSIONS: Charcoal-burning suicides increased markedly in some East/Southeast Asian countries (Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and Singapore) in the first decade of the 21st century, but such rises were not experienced by all countries in the region. In countries with a rise in charcoal-burning suicide rates, the timing, scale, and sex/age pattern of increases varied by country. Factors underlying these variations require further investigation, but may include differences in culture or in media portrayals of the method. Please see later in the article for the Editors' Summary.

Matched MeSH terms: Suicide/statistics & numerical data*

Risk factors for suicidal ideation, plans and attempts in Malaysia--results of an epidemiological survey

Maniam T, Marhani M, Firdaus M, Kadir AB, Mazni MJ, Azizul A, et al.

Compr Psychiatry, 2014 Jan;55 Suppl 1:S121-5.

PMID: 24156873 DOI: 10.1016/j.comppsych.2013.08.004

This is an epidemiological study to determine the prevalence of suicidal behavior and its association with generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) and major depressive disorder (MDD) in a nationally representative sample.

Matched MeSH terms: Suicide/statistics & numerical data

Suicide trends in Singapore: 1955-2004

Chia BH, Chia A, Yee NW, Choo TB

Arch Suicide Res, 2010;14(3):276-83.

PMID: 20658381 DOI: 10.1080/13811118.2010.494147

The objective of this study was to investigate suicide trends in Singapore between 1955 and 2004. Suicide cases were identified from the Registry of Birth and Death, Singapore, and analyzed using Poisson regression. Overall, suicide rates in Singapore remained stable between 9.8-13.0/100,000 over the last 5 decades. Rates remain highest in elderly males, despite declines among the elderly and middle-aged males in recent years. Rates in ethnic Chinese and Indians were consistently higher than in Malays. While the rates among female Indians and Chinese have declined significantly between 1995 and 2004, some increase was noted in female Malays. Although there was no increase in overall suicide rates, risk within certain population segments has changed over time.

Matched MeSH terms: Suicide/statistics & numerical data*

Fulltext National Suicide Registry Malaysia (NSRM)

Hayati AN, Kamarul AK

Med J Malaysia, 2008 Sep;63 Suppl C:50-4.

PMID: 19227674

To create a nationwide system to capture data on completed suicide in Malaysia i.e. the morbidity, geographic and temporal trends and the population at high risk of suicide. Data from this registry can later be used to stimulate and facilitate further research on suicide. This paper describes the rationale and processes involved in developing a national suicide registry in 2007. The diagnosis of suicide is based on the ICD-10 codes for fatal intentional self-harm (X60-X84). A case report form with an accompanying instruction manual had been prepared to ensure systematic and uniform data collection. State Forensic Pathologist's offices are responsible for data collection in their respective states, and in turn will submit the data to a central data management unit. Data collection began in July 2007 and currently in data cleaning process. Training for source data producers is ongoing. In 2008, the NSRM plans to involve university hospitals into its network as currently only Ministry of Health hospitals are involved. The NSRM will be launching its online application for case registration this year while an overview of results will be available via its public domain at www.nsrm.gov.my beginning 20 April 2008. To efficiently capture the data on suicide, a concerted effort between various agencies is needed. A lot of conceptual work and data base development remains to be done in order to position preventive efforts on a more solid foundation.

Matched MeSH terms: Suicide/statistics & numerical data*

Fulltext The National Mental Health Registry (NMHR)

Aziz AA, Salina AA, Abdul Kadir AB, Badiah Y, Cheah YC, Nor Hayati A, et al.

Med J Malaysia, 2008 Sep;63 Suppl C:15-7.

PMID: 19227671

The National Mental Health Registry (NMHR) collects information about patients with mental disorder in Malaysia. This information allows us to estimate the incidence of selected mental disorders, and to evaluate risk factors and treatment in the country. The National Mental Health Registry (NMHR) presented its first report in 2004, a year after its establishment. The report focused on schizophrenia as a pioneer project for the National Mental Health Registry. The development of the registry has progressed with data collected from government-based facilities, the academia and the private sector. The 2003-2005 report was recently published and distributed. Since then the registry has progressed to include suicides and other mental illnesses such as depression. The NMHR Report 2003-2005 provides detailed information about the profile of persons with Schizophrenia who presented for the first time to various psychiatry and mental health providers throughout Malaysia. More detailed description regarding pharmacotherapy is reported and few cross tabulations done in an effort to provide better understanding and more clinically meaningful reports.

Matched MeSH terms: Suicide/statistics & numerical data

Suicide and ethnicity in Malaysia

Murty OP, Cheh LB, Bakit PA, Hui FJ, Ibrahim ZB, Jusoh NB

Am J Forensic Med Pathol, 2008 Mar;29(1):19-22.

PMID: 19749611 DOI: 10.1097/PAF.0b013e31815b4c57

This article highlights methods of ending life in different ethnic groups. This inference is drawn from analysis of data from suicidal cases from the University Malaya Medical Centre mortuary. This study also looked at sex, age, social, and employment factors. Kuala Lumpur has sizeable populations of Muslims, Chinese, Indians and Indonesian, etc. This study is based on 251 cases of suicide that were reported at the University Malaya Medical Centre from 2000 to 2004. Malaysia has a population of 22,662,365 people with 3 major ethnic groups: Malay (58%), Chinese (24%), and Indians (8%) with a minority of "others" (10%), which includes foreigners, Sabahan, and Sarawakian. This research found suicides of 164 male (65%) and 87 female (35%) victims. Their age ranged from 15 to 80 years. The age group from 21 to 30 had the highest total cases of suicide (83 of 251; 33.1%). Among ethnic groups highest rate of suicide was among Chinese with a total of 120 cases (120 of 251; 47.8%). As far as lone method of suicide is concerned, hangings accounted for the highest proportion of cases (108 of 251; 43%). Among ethnic groups, jumping from height was the commonest method used by Chinese (49 of 120; 41%), Malay (9 of 16; 56%), and others (15 of 28; 53.4%); whereas, hanging was the commonest method of committing suicide by Indians (49 of 87); Muslims showed the lowest cases of suicide (18 of 251; 7.2%). In poisoning group Indian was the highest ethnic group who used this method (20 of 37; 54.1%).

Matched MeSH terms: Suicide/statistics & numerical data*

Paediatric deaths in Kuala Lumpur

Kumar V, Jumali IB

Med Sci Law, 2006 Oct;46(4):301-9.

PMID: 17191633

The main aim of this study was to determine the causes and epidemiological aspects of paediatric death. Data was collected on 143 cases of paediatric death from a total of 2,895 autopsies performed in University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC), Kuala Lumpur, over a five-year period from 2000 to 2004. There were 78 males and 65 females. The largest number of cases (32.9%) were stillborn. The highest proportion of cases (30.1%) were Chinese. The majority of cases of paediatric death were non-traumatic (74.8%) of which intrauterine death (IUD) was the most common (32.9%). Amongst the traumatic deaths (25.2%), accidental injury (23.8%) was observed in the majority of cases.

Matched MeSH terms: Suicide/statistics & numerical data

Fulltext The pattern of completed suicides seen in Kuala Lumpur General Hospital 1999

Hayati AN, Salina AA, Abdullah AA, Eusni RT, Mansar AH

Med J Malaysia, 2004 Jun;59(2):190-8.

PMID: 15559169 MyJurnal

A study was done on 76 suicide cases managed by the Forensic Pathology Department of Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL) from January till December 1999 to explore the pattern of suicide and psychiatric history. The Chinese contributed 52% (n=40) of cases followed by the Indians (29%, n=22) and the Malays (12%, n=9). After the age of sixty, 84.6% of the subjects were Chinese. The common methods of suicide were poisoning (39%), hanging (34%) and jumping from height (22%). Four out of 12 case-notes traced had documented psychiatric history i.e. schizophrenia.

Matched MeSH terms: Suicide/statistics & numerical data*

Suicide prevention program for at-risk groups: pointers from an epidemiological study

Maniam T, Chinna K, Lim CH, Kadir AB, Nurashikin I, Salina AA, et al.

Prev Med, 2013;57 Suppl:S45-6.

PMID: 23454536 DOI: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2013.02.022

The aim of this paper is to identify at-risk groups for a focused suicide prevention program for Malaysia.

Matched MeSH terms: Suicide/statistics & numerical data

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