| |
Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
 | |
|
| The possible evidence for an epidemiological transition hypothesis for elderly suicides | | Author(s) | A Shah |
| Journal title | International Psychogeriatrics, vol 22, no 2, March 2010 |
| Pages | pp 219-226 |
| Source | http://www.journals.cambridge.org/ipg doi:10.1017/S104161020999130X |
| Keywords | Suicide ; Economic status [elderly] ; Correlation. |
| Annotation | An epidemiological transition hypothesis has been developed to explain simultaneously wide cross-national variations in suicide rates of older people, trends over time for older suicide rates and age-associated trends in suicides rates. This speculative hypothesis suggests that there is a curvilinear (inverted U-shaped curve) relationship between suicide rates of older people and socioeconomic status fitting the quadratic equation y = a + bx - cx2 (where y is the suicide rate, x is the socioeconomic status, and a, b and c are constants). The predicted curvilinear relationship between older people's suicide rates and gross national domestic product (GDP), a measure of socioeconomic status, fitting the above quadratic equation was examined with a curve estimation regression model using data from the World Health Organization (WHO). The relationship between suicide rates in both sexes in the age-bands 65-74 and 75+ years and the GDP was curvilinear (inverted U-shaped curve) and fitted the above quadratic equation, and was statistically significant (at least p<0.05) in all four groups. Caution should be exercised in accepting this model of the epidemiological transition hypothesis for elderly suicide rates because it is generated from cross-sectional data using an ecological design. Ideally, this model requires rigorous testing by following selected countries of low socioeconomic status over time as they develop socioeconomically. (KJ/RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-100407207 A |
| Classmark | EV: F:W: 49 |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
|
| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
| |
|