Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
http://hdl.handle.net/10397/87925
Title: | Hot weather and suicide deaths among older adults in hong kong, 1976–2014 : a retrospective study | Authors: | Chau, PH Yip, PSF Lau, HYE Ip, YT Law, FYW Ho, RTH Leung, AYM Wong, JYH Woo, J |
Issue Date: | 2020 | Source: | International journal of environmental research and public health, 2020, v. 17, no. 10, 3449 | Abstract: | Findings of the association between hot weather and suicide in a subtropical city such as Hong Kong are inconsistent. This study aimed to revisit the association by identifying meteorological risk factors for older-adult suicides in Hong Kong using a time-series approach. A retrospective study was conducted on older-adult (aged ≥65) suicide deaths in Hong Kong from 1976 to 2014. Suicides were classified into those involving violent methods and those involving nonviolent methods. Meteorological data, including ambient temperature, were retrieved. Transfer function time-series models were fitted. In total, 7314 older-adult suicide deaths involving violent methods and 630 involving nonviolent methods were recorded. For violent-method suicides, a monthly average daily minimum ambient temperature was determined to best predict the monthly rate, and a daily maximum ambient temperature of 30.3◦ C was considered the threshold. For suicide deaths involving nonviolent methods, the number of days in a month for which the daily maximum ambient temperature exceeded 32.7◦ C could best predict the monthly rate. Higher ambient temperature was associated with more older-adult suicide deaths, both from violent and nonviolent methods. Weather-focused preventive measures for older-adult suicides are necessary, such as the provision of more public air-conditioned areas where older adults can shelter from extreme hot weather. | Keywords: | Hong Kong Older adults Suicide Temperature Weather |
Publisher: | Molecular Diversity Preservation International (MDPI) | Journal: | International journal of environmental research and public health | ISSN: | 1661-7827 | EISSN: | 1660-4601 | DOI: | 10.3390/ijerph17103449 | Rights: | © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The following publication Chau PH, Yip PSF, Lau EHY, Ip YT, Law FYW, Ho RTH, Leung AYM, Wong JYH, Woo J. Hot Weather and Suicide Deaths among Older Adults in Hong Kong, 1976–2014: A Retrospective Study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2020; 17(10):3449, is available at https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17103449 |
Appears in Collections: | Journal/Magazine Article |
Files in This Item:
File | Description | Size | Format | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Chau_Hot_weather_suicide.pdf | 904.68 kB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
Page views
48
Last Week
0
0
Last month
Citations as of May 5, 2024
Downloads
13
Citations as of May 5, 2024
SCOPUSTM
Citations
9
Citations as of Apr 4, 2024
WEB OF SCIENCETM
Citations
8
Citations as of May 2, 2024
Google ScholarTM
Check
Altmetric
Items in DSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.