ID :
208207
Tue, 09/20/2011 - 09:01
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/208207
The shortlink copeid
Leap in suicides by men in early 50s blamed on economic pressures
SEOUL, Sept. 20 (Yonhap) -- Increasing economic pressure was the main factor in a fourfold leap over two decades of suicides by men in their early 50s, according to data released Tuesday.
Suicides in that group reached a record high in 2009, when 62.4 of every 100,000 South Korean males aged 50 to 54 took their own lives. The same age group recorded 15.6 suicides per 100,000 men in 1989, data from Statistics Korea and the National Police Agency showed.
The 300 percent increase in suicides by male so-called baby boomers, born following World War II and the 1950-53 Korean War, is the highest on record and much higher than younger males.
Men aged 40 to 44 recorded an increase of 193 percent over the 20-year period while suicides among males aged 30 to 34 rose 149 percent over the same period. Among women aged 50 to 54, 19.9 in each 100,000 committed suicide in 2009, compared to only 5.2 per 100,000 two decades earlier. While a substantially lower number than their male peers, the percentage increase, at 283 percent, was not far behind.
Men in their early 50s are usually economically active and key breadwinners, and analysts linked heavy pressures on them in difficult economic times with the spike in suicides. In a recent poll by Statistics Korea, the most common reason given by men for considering suicide was economic pressure, followed by chronic illness.
"Men who are now in their 50s survived fierce competition as the backbone of the baby boom generation, and they are now sort of caught between their parent and offspring generations," a police official said.
Suicides in that group reached a record high in 2009, when 62.4 of every 100,000 South Korean males aged 50 to 54 took their own lives. The same age group recorded 15.6 suicides per 100,000 men in 1989, data from Statistics Korea and the National Police Agency showed.
The 300 percent increase in suicides by male so-called baby boomers, born following World War II and the 1950-53 Korean War, is the highest on record and much higher than younger males.
Men aged 40 to 44 recorded an increase of 193 percent over the 20-year period while suicides among males aged 30 to 34 rose 149 percent over the same period. Among women aged 50 to 54, 19.9 in each 100,000 committed suicide in 2009, compared to only 5.2 per 100,000 two decades earlier. While a substantially lower number than their male peers, the percentage increase, at 283 percent, was not far behind.
Men in their early 50s are usually economically active and key breadwinners, and analysts linked heavy pressures on them in difficult economic times with the spike in suicides. In a recent poll by Statistics Korea, the most common reason given by men for considering suicide was economic pressure, followed by chronic illness.
"Men who are now in their 50s survived fierce competition as the backbone of the baby boom generation, and they are now sort of caught between their parent and offspring generations," a police official said.
