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Introduction: From 2010 to 2021, suicide rates in 15–24 age group in Taiwan increased by 70%, with jumping being the most common method in 2021. We examined the link between the rise in youth suicides and the increase in high‐rise buildings during this period. Methods: Spearman's correlation coefficients and negative binomial mixed‐effects models were employed to assess the association between the increase in high‐rise buildings and jumping suicides over time. Results: Spearman's correlation coefficients of high‐rise buildings and jumping suicide rates in youth decreased from 0.692 (p < 0.001) in 2010 to 0.354 (p = 0.11) in 2021. Negative binomial mixed‐effects models showed that although jumping suicide rates in youths increased over time, the increase in numbers of high‐rise buildings was not related to rates of youth suicide by jumping. Conversely, in older age groups, the correlations were still prominent. Conclusion: Despite the rising trend in youth suicides by jumping over the past 11 years, our study refutes the intuitive notion that the increase in high‐rise buildings contributes to this trend. It is imperative to identify and address other potential factors, such as academic stress and/or family disruptions, for effective prevention of youth suicide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims: Drug use disorders are associated with increased risk of self‐harm. Risk differences associated with specific types of drug use disorders are yet to be comprehensively reported. This study aimed to examine the risk of self‐harm or suicide associated with different drug use disorders in Hong Kong. Design Population‐based cohort study. Setting The Clinical Data Analysis and Reporting System (CDARS) managed by the Hong Kong Hospital Authority. Participants: Cases were people ages 10 years or older who visited a hospital Accident and Emergency department between 1 January, 2004 and 31 December, 2016 with any of 10 specific drug use disorders (comprising opioid; ketamine; methamphetamine; sedative, hypnotic, or anxiolytic; amphetamine or related stimulant; cocaine; cannabis; hallucinogen; unspecified or other drug; and polydrug). Each case was matched with two controls, selected from a subset of people in CDARS sharing the same gender, age and psychiatric profile. A total of 8270 cases and 16 540 matched controls were included. Measurements Incidence and adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) of subsequent self‐harm or suicide for each specific drug use disorder were estimated. Findings The most prevalent drug use disorder was opioid use disorder (2523; 30.51%) and the least prevalent was hallucinogen use disorder (77; 0.93%). The crude incidence of self‐harm or suicide ranged from 26.57 (95% CI, 14.23–44.55) per 1000 person‐years for cannabis use disorder to 91.97 (77.32–108.37) for polydrug use disorder. The highest risk of self‐harm or suicide was observed in ketamine (aHR, 16.36; 95% CI, 11.03–24.29) and opioid (15.97; 10.73–23.23) use disorders. Conclusions: In Hong Kong, all types of drug use disorders appear to be significantly associated with increased risk of self‐harm or suicide, but risk levels vary by type of drug use disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To quantify the contributions of epidemiological changes (age‐ and gender‐specific suicide rates) and demographic forces (population growth and aging) to global changes in years of life lost (YLLs) from suicide over the last 30 years. Method: A decomposition analysis was used to assess the impacts of population growth, population aging, and suicide prevalence on global changes in YLLs from suicide between 1990 and 2019. Results: From 1990 to 2019, global YLLs from suicide reduced by 2,073,714 years (5.9%), from 35,246,316 years to 33,172,602 years. This was mainly due to the decline in age‐specific suicide rates, which reduced the overall YLLs from suicide by 20,185,691 years (973.4%). However, this decline was offset by the impacts of population growth and population aging, which increased global YLLs from suicide by 14,949,110 years (−720.9%) and 3,442,074 years (−166.0%), respectively. The combined effects of epidemiological and demographic drivers were also reflected in different trends in YLLs from suicide across genders and World Bank income level regions, with particularly notable increases in low‐ income and lower‐middle income countries and the aging population. Conclusions: With the significant effects of epidemiological and demographic drivers, global and regional YLLs from suicide may be expected to change greatly in the future. Efforts to reduce the burden of suicide require appropriate allocation of resources for suicide‐prevention strategies and further consideration of demographic factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND Research suggests that a whole‐school approach to mental health promotion can be more effective than a compartmentalized approach. In particular, student‐led initiatives have demonstrated a positive impact on students' mental health, though not without systemic and individual barriers. Factors that lead to successful implementation and sustaining of student‐led initiatives are currently not well understood. METHODS: A case study is presented to demonstrate how a student‐led intervention came about, inspired changes in the school organization and members, and transformed the school's approach to mental health promotion. Analysis of in‐depth interviews with student leaders and adult advisors was informed by theories of innovation diffusion and human motivation. RESULTS: Key factors and mechanisms of change were identified for the initiation, transformation, and institutionalization stages of the student‐led initiative. Changes in students' identity and adult advisors' mindset were found to be integral to the successful conversion to a whole‐school approach in mental health promotion. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirms the value of mobilizing the student body as an active resource in promoting mental health in school and the importance of input from school management, advisors, and intervention expert. Recommendations on how to implement a student‐led initiative and sustain the positive changes are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Cancer patients have elevated suicide risk compared to the general population. However, little is known about the characteristics of cancer patients who have died by suicide. The objectives of the study were to compare the characteristics of suicide cases with, and without cancer, and determine whether age was associated with differences in characteristics. Methods: A total of 14,446 suicide cases between 2003 and 2017 in Hong Kong were identified using Coroner's Court reports. Cases were grouped by cancer status, based on medical history in the reports. Information extracted from the reports included sociodemographic variables and detailed descriptions of the suicide event. Univariate analyses and overall and subgroup multiple logistic regressions were performed to compare characteristics between the two groups. Results: Of the 14,446 suicide cases, 1,461 (10.11%) had a cancer history. Compared to noncancer cases, cancer patients were generally older and less likely to live alone; more likely to use violent methods; less likely to have histories of physical and psychiatric problems; and more likely to communicate about their suicidal intent before death. Age was significantly associated with differences between cancer and noncancer cases. Conclusions: Cancer suicide cases have different characteristics from noncancer cases. Mental health screening may not be sufficient for suicide prevention among cancer patients. Healthcare professionals and caregivers should be aware of cancer patients' suicide risk, even when there are no signs of psychiatric disturbance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A timely estimate of suicide incidence is important for surveillance and monitoring but always difficult if not possible. The delay in reporting suicide cases between the time of occurrence of the deaths and them being registered is unavoidable. There is at least one year if not more of the delay time in the latest WHO website reporting the suicide statistics of most countries. Based on the daily newspaper reporting on suicide incidence, this study proposes a method to estimate the unknown incidence in a timely manner. It is shown that demographic characteristics such as age, suicide methods, and the districts of the deceased were significantly associated with the probability of the newspapers reporting the suicides. By incorporating this information on the daily suicide news reports into estimating the probability of the newspapers reporting the suicides, the daily number of suicide cases can be estimated. The proposed method is applied to estimate the number of suicides in Hong Kong where there is the Coroner's Court to investigate into suicide deaths, but it takes at least six months to deliver a verdict. The present method can generate timely and accurate estimations on the daily count of suicide deaths with only a one day lag. In a threefold nested cross-validation, the proposed approach has achieved an average RMSE of 1.38, MAE of 1.10, and R2 of 0.24. It can also serve as a surveillance system in providing estimations of temporal clusters of suicides with certain characteristics timelessly and accurately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Statistics is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent control measures may increase population suicide risk.1 The 2003 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak is amongst previous infectious diseases epidemics most similar to the COVID-19 pandemic, as both were caused by coronaviruses and had a large-scale impact in affected countries.2 We investigated the impact of the SARS outbreak on suicide rates in Taiwan and Hong Kong, two regions most affected by the SARS epidemic,2 to inform concerns about the current pandemic's impact on suicide. Negative binomial regression models were used to estimate the rate ratios (RRs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for suicide rates during the SARS epidemic period (March-June 2003) and post-epidemic period (July-December 2003), relative to that expected based on pre-epidemic trends (January 1993-February 2003). The greater impact of the SARS epidemic on suicide rates was in parallel to higher SARS case and mortality rates and the epidemic's greater economic impacts in Hong Kong than in Taiwan. [Extracted from the article]

Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is common in women with breast cancer, but little is known of its relationship with perceived stress. We conducted a cross-sectional study to explore the associations of CRF with perceived stress, anxiety, depression, pain and sleep quality in 133 Chinese women (aged 25-68 years) with early stage breast cancer. The majority of women had completed surgery and chemotherapy and were awaiting radiotherapy. Self-administered questionnaires consisting of the Brief Fatigue Inventory, Perceived Stress Scale-10, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Brief Pain Inventory, and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index were used to collect data. Forty-five per cent of the women were severely fatigued. Compared with local healthy women and US breast cancer patients, the group's mean perceived stress score was significantly higher (both p < 0.01). Higher perceived stress (β = 0.18, p = 0.032), higher anxiety (β = 0.30, p < 0.001) and higher pain severity (β = 0.38, p < 0.001) were associated with increased severity of CRF. The association of CRF with perceived stress was partially mediated by anxiety, suggesting a possible pathway from cancer and cancer treatment to CRF via stress appraisals and emotional distress. The findings indicate the importance of monitoring the psychological status of patients during treatment. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To study the effect of renal disease on the standardized mortality ratio (SMR) and life expectancy of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Methods Patients whose diagnosis met ≥4 American College of Rheumatology criteria for SLE were longitudinally followed up from 1995 to 2011. The cumulative survival rate, SMR, and life expectancy were calculated, and the effect of renal involvement, histologic class of lupus nephritis, renal damage, and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) on these parameters was evaluated. Results Of the 694 SLE patients studied, 368 (53%) had renal disease, and the distribution of histologic classes (among 285 patients) was class I (1%), class II (6%), class III (19%), class IV (47%), class III/IV + class V (10%), and class V (16%). Renal damage was present in 79 patients (11%), and 24 (3%) developed ESRD. The age- and sex-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) of mortality in SLE patients with renal disease, those with renal damage, and those with ESRD, as compared to those without, were 2.23 (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.29-3.85), 3.59 (95% CI 2.20-5.87), and 9.20 (95% CI 4.92-17.2), respectively. Proliferative lupus nephritis (adjusted HR 2.28, 95% CI 1.22-4.24), but not the pure membranous type (adjusted HR 1.09, 95% CI 0.38-3.14), was associated with a significant increase in mortality. The age- and sex-adjusted SMRs of SLE patients without renal involvement, those with lupus nephritis, those with proliferative nephritis, those with pure membranous nephritis, those with renal damage, and those with ESRD were 4.8 (95% CI 2.8-7.5), 9.0 (95% CI 6.7-11.9), 9.8 (95% CI 6.5-14.1), 6.1 (95% CI 2.0-14.1), 14.0 (95% CI 9.1-20.5), and 63.1 (95% CI 33.6-108.0), respectively. The life expectancy of SLE patients with renal disease and those with renal damage was reduced by 15.1 years and 23.7 years, respectively, compared to the general population. Conclusion The presence of renal disease, in particular proliferative nephritis causing renal insufficiency, significantly reduces the survival and life expectancy of SLE patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

. We consider the properties of the local polynomial estimators of a counting process intensity function and its derivatives. By expressing the local polynomial estimators in a kernel smoothing form via effective kernels, we show that the bias and variance of the estimators at boundary points are of the same magnitude as at interior points and therefore the local polynomial estimators in the context of intensity estimation also enjoy the automatic boundary correction property as they do in other contexts such as regression. The asymptotically optimal bandwidths and optimal kernel functions are obtained through the asymptotic expressions of the mean square error of the estimators. For practical purpose, we suggest an effective and easy-to-calculate data-driven bandwidth selector. Simulation studies are carried out to assess the performance of the local polynomial estimators and the proposed bandwidth selector. The estimators and the bandwidth selector are applied to estimate the rate of aftershocks of the Sichuan earthquake and the rate of the Personal Emergency Link calls in Hong Kong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stressful life events, personal control, and social support were examined relative to marital satisfaction among 1749 participants in seven Chinese cities. Stressful life events were categorized as life crises and life transitions. Life crises, rather than transitions, negatively predicted the marital satisfaction of Chinese. The moderating effects of personal control were found among women, but not men, and occurred only in the relationship between marital satisfaction and life crises, not life transitions. Social support buffers the negative effects of life crises on marital satisfaction. The results extend family stress-coping theory in specifying two coping resources for Chinese marriages under stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is of interest to estimate the size of a crowd in a demonstration. We propose a practical method to obtain an estimate of the size of the crowd and its standard error. This method has been implemented in practice and, compared with other counting methods, is found to be more efficient, more timely and have less scope for bias. The method described in this paper was motivated by the annual 1 July demonstrations in Hong Kong, and data from the 2006 demonstration are used as an example of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Charcoal burning suicides in Hong Kong between 2002-2004 in the 15 to 59-year-old age group were investigated using the psychological autopsy method. The psychopathological profiles of charcoal burning suicides (N= 53) were compared against "other suicides" (N= 97). The two groups did not differ significantly in the prevalence of DSM-IV axis I diagnoses with the exception of schizophrenic spectrum disorder which was less frequently associated with charcoal burning suicides. Score on "neuroticism" in the NEO-five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) was significantly higher in victims of charcoal burning suicide. There was also a trend toward higher score on "conscientiousness" in the NEO-FFI among charcoal burners than victims of other suicide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Statistics is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

An integrative suicide prevention program was implemented to tackle an outbreak of visitor charcoal burning suicides in Cheung Chau, an island in Hong Kong, in 2002. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the program. The numbers of visitor suicides reduced from 37 deaths in the 51 months prior to program implementation to 6 deaths in the 42 months post-implementation period. The number of visitor suicide pacts decreased from 7 pacts (15 individuals) to 1 pact (2 individuals). No statistically significant differences in the numbers of visitor suicide attempts and resident suicides were observed in the two time periods. No statistically significant changes in visitor suicides during the study period were observed on the comparison islands. The consistency and timing of reduction in visitor suicides correlated with the development and delivery of the integrative program on the intervention island, suggesting a causal association between program delivery and reduction of visitor suicides. The possibility of displacement seems small because there was no increase in visitor suicides on the comparison islands during the study period. This integrative approach in preventing target-specific suicides may serve as an example for other communities to develop suicide prevention programs that make use of the existing local resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In any epidemic, there may exist an unidentified subpopulation which might be naturally immune or isolated and who will not be involved in the transmission of the disease. Estimation of key parameters, for example, the basic reproductive number, without accounting for this possibility would underestimate the severity of the epidemics. Here, we propose a procedure to estimate the basic reproductive number ( R 0) in an epidemic model with an unknown initial number of susceptibles. The infection process is usually not completely observed, but is reconstructed by a kernel-smoothing method under a counting process framework. Simulation is used to evaluate the performance of the estimators for major epidemics. We illustrate the procedure using the Abakaliki smallpox data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003 had an enormous impact on Hong Kong society and the suicide rate was also at its historical high, 18.6 per 100,000. The most significant increase was found among the older adults aged 65 or above. Methods Poisson Regression Models were used to examine impact of the SARS epidemic on older adults suicides in Hong Kong. A complete set of the suicide statistics for the period 1993–2004 from the Coroners' Court were made available for the analysis. Chi-square test was used to compare the profile of the older adult suicide cases in the pre-SARS, peri-SARS and post-SARS periods. Results It showed an excess of older adults suicides in April 2003, when compared to the month of April of the other years. A trough, instead of the usual summer peak, was observed in June, suggesting some of the older adults suicides might have been brought forward. On a year basis, the annual older adult's suicide rates in 2003 and 2004 were significantly higher than that in 2002, suggesting the suicide rate did not return to the level before the SARS epidemic. Based on the Coroners' suicide death records, overall severity of illness, level of dependency and worrying of having sickness among the older adult suicides were found to be significantly different in the pre-SARS, peri-SARS and post-SARS periods. Conclusion The SARS epidemic was associated with an increase in older adults' suicide rate in April 2003 and some suicide deaths in June 2003 might have been brought forward. Moreover, an increase in the annual older adults' suicide rate in 2003 was observed and the rate in 2004 did not return to the level of 2002. Loneliness and disconnectedness among the older adults in the community were likely to be associated with the excess older adults' suicides in 2003. Maintaining and enhancing mental well being of the public over the period of epidemic is as important as curbing the spread of the epidemic. Attention and effort should also be made to enhance the community's ability to manage fear and anxiety, especially in vulnerable groups over the period of epidemic to prevent tragic and unnecessary suicide deaths. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a double-nonparametric procedure to estimate the population size for reporting delay data without the specification of the incidence function and the delay distribution function. Asymptotic results of the proposed estimator are given. Simulation studies show that the proposed procedure works better than the existing estimating procedures. The method has been applied to a suicide reporting system in Hong Kong for improving monitoring and surveillance purposes. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presence of indebtedness is known to be a risk factor that can trigger stressed persons to contemplate suicide. This study compares the profiles of suicides with and without debt problems based on 2002 Coroner's Court death files. The category of men aged 25–39 has seen a 70% increase in suicide rate since 1997, and the number using carbon monoxide poisoning has increased from 1% of the total deaths in 1997 to about 26% of the total deaths in 2002. Suicides associated with debt problems seem to involve fewer mental and physical problems with formal job attachment than do suicides without debt problems. Gambling is a significant contributing factor to unmanageable indebtedness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the effect of imperfect vaccination in a susceptible-infected-removal (SIR) epidemic model. The minimum proportion of the population that needs to be vaccinated to prevent a major epidemic depends on the vaccine efficacy and the basic reproductive rate for the SIR model, allowing for imperfect and variable vaccination. Martingale theory is used to derive estimates and associated standard errors for these parameters. Asymptotic properties of the resulting estimators are investigated. Data for a mumps outbreak are used as an illustrative example. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Classification of suicides is essential for clinicians to better identify self-harm patients with future suicidal risks. This study examined potential subtypes of suicide in a psychological autopsy sample (N = 148) in Hong Kong. Hierarchical cluster analysis extracted two subgroups of subjects in terms of expressed deliberation assessed by the Beck Suicide Intent Scale (SIS). The first group was associated with charcoal burning suicide, no psychiatric illness, indebtedness, better problem-solving ability, chronic stress, and higher overall SIS scores. The second group was associated with jumping from a height, psychotic disorders, psychiatric treatment, acute stress, and lower overall SIS score. The existence of a substantial cluster of subjects with lower expressed intent and preparation has important implications for the performance of the SIS as a predictive tool. Suicide prevention strategy may have to target potential subgroups with specific approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kernel smoothing methods are used to extend the Poisson log-linear approach to the estimation of the size of population using multiple lists to an open population when the multiple lists are recorded at each time point. The data is marginal as only the lists at each time point are available and the transitions of individuals between lists at different time points are not observable. Our analysis is motivated by and applied to data on the number of drug addicts in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A measurement scale should be short and quick to complete if it is to be practically useful. Drawing on data from a community-based survey of 2,178 people in Hong Kong, we compared five short forms (5-to 10-item) and the original version (20-item) of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies--Depression Scale (CES-D; Radloff, 1977) in predicting suicidal attempts and suicidal thoughts. Short forms with as few as nine items performed in ways very similar to the full version; a version with only five items had a detectable difference from the full version. Sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values in differentiating people with and without suicidal thought or attempt change almost linearly with the cut-offs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, demographic and clinical characteristics of individuals with schizophrenia in a Chinese rural community who had attempted suicide at some time in their lives and those who had not made a suicide attempt were compared. Among individuals with schizophrenia, subjects with (n = 38) and without (n = 472) a lifetime history of suicide attempt were assessed with the Present State Examination. The results indicate that attempters had a significantly younger age, higher level of education, higher rate of lifetime depressed mood and hopelessness, and a larger number of positive symptoms than patients without suicide attempts. The logistic regression models also indicated that hopelessness, the number of positive symptoms and age were the most important predictors. Early interventions focusing on reducing hopelessness and controlling positive symptoms may help reduce the risk of suicide attempts among patients with schizophrenia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares the properties of various estimators for a beta-binomial model for estimating the size of a heterogeneous population. It is found that maximum likelihood and conditional maximum likelihood estimators perform well for a large population with a large capture proportion. The jackknife and the sample coverage estimators are biased for low capture probabilities. The performance of the martingale estimator is satisfactory, but it requires full capture histories. The Gibbs sampler and Metropolis-Hastings algorithm provide reasonable posterior estimates for informative priors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Suicide is the leading cause of death in Hong Kong SAR for the youth aged 15–24. This study examined the prevalence of suicidality among secondary school students in Hong Kong using a representative, territory-wide sample of 2,586 students. Suicidal behaviors can be conceptualized as a spectrum of self-destructive behaviors. Cumulative logit model analysis indicated that a range of factors, such as unhappy family life, were associated with increasing levels of suicidality. Use of illicit drugs, inhalants, and tobacco differentiated attempters from ideators. The implications of the research findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses how an additive, multiplicative model and a Horvitz Thompson-type estimator are proposed to estimate the unknown population size in a continuous-time recapture experiment. Consideration of the population size in a recapture experiment; Need for a modification; Properties of the proposed estimators and the associated inference procedures; Characteristics of the recapture data for deer mice.

Suicide rates in Hong Kong increased with age, and the highest suicide rate occurred among the oldest age groups. Hong Kong has one of the highest elderly suicide rates in the world. The elderly suicide rate was four to five times above the average. Furthermore, gender differences were observed among different marital status groups. For example, single males had a much higher rate than single females and married males had a higher rate than their widowed counterparts. The suicide rate for an economically inactive person was six times higher than for an active one. Jumping has become increasingly common and seems to substitute for other methods of suicide. Winter months and the Chinese New Year period had the lowest suicide occurrence. Some explanations are given. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the patterns and determinants of multidimensional poverty and related welfare interventions in Hong Kong. These patterns unveil which dimension or combinations of dimensions contribute the most to multidimensional poverty. These results are useful in informing poverty‐alleviation policies as they help to identify who should be targeted and which welfare transfer programme(s) should be enhanced. Data were drawn from the first wave (2015) of the Hong Kong Panel Survey for Poverty Alleviation (N = 1458). A latent‐class analysis revealed four types of multidimensional poverty: severely deprived, housing‐led poor, socially and status excluded and neighbourhood poor. A multinomial logistic regression was conducted and identified distinctive determinants of the four types of poverty. The groups that require paramount attention from policymakers are older adults over age 70, households with members with disabilities or chronic diseases and households with five or more members. The assessment of the coverage and intensity of cash and in‐kind transfers showed that the coverage of cash transfers for the severely deprived and housing transfers for the housing‐led poor was inadequate. The approach proposed in this study exemplifies ways to transform multidimensional poverty research into evidence‐based policymaking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the seasonal effects of suicides in Hong Kong with respect to gender, age groups and method of suicide. Three-month moving average number of suicides for the period 1981-1997; Effect of seasonal changes on the distribution of suicides; Proportion of suicides among deaths in Hong Kong.

A measurement scale should be short and quick to complete if it is to be practically useful. Drawing on data from a community-based survey of 2,178 people in Hong Kong, we compared five short forms (5- to 10-item) and the original version (20-item) of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D; Radloff, 1977) in predicting suicidal attempts and suicidal thoughts. Short forms with as few as nine items performed in ways very similar to the full version; a version with only five items had a detectable difference from the full version. Sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values in differentiating people with and without suicidal thought or attempt change almost linearly with the cut-offs.

In this study, demographic and clinical characteristics of individuals with schizophrenia in a Chinese rural community who had attempted suicide at some time in their lives and those who had not made a suicide attempt were compared. Among individuals with schizophrenia, subjects with (n = 38) and without (n = 472) a lifetime history of suicide attempt were assessed with the Present State Examination. The results indicate that attempters had a significantly younger age, higher level of education, higher rate of lifetime depressed mood and hopelessness, and a larger number of positive symptoms than patients without suicide attempts. The logistic regression models also indicated that hopelessness, the number of positive symptoms and age were the most important predictors. Early interventions focusing on reducing hopelessness and controlling positive symptoms may help reduce the risk of suicide attempts among patients with schizophrenia.