Urban-rural inequalities in suicide among elderly people in China: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

ABSTRACT:

Background

China has an unusual pattern of suicides, with overall suicide rates in rural areas higher than urban areas. While suicide rates have decreased dramatically, older people increasingly contribute to the overall burden of suicide. However, it is unclear if elderly people within rural areas experience greater suicide risk than those in urban areas. We aimed to systematically review the incidence of suicide in rural and urban China among the elderly (aged over 60 years), with a view to describing the difference in rates between rural and urban areas and trends over time.

Methods

Chinese and English language articles were searched for using four databases: EMBASE (Ovid), MEDLINE (Ovid), PsycINFO (EBSCOhost) and CNKI (in Chinese). Articles describing completed suicide a

SUBMITTER: Li M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6319001 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature