A Study on the Relationship between Suicidal Ideation and Chronic Diseases Amongst the Elderly

This study aims to analyze factors related to suicidal ideation amongst the elderly, and provide basic data for developing suicide intervention methods. The subjects of the study were 1,656 individuals aged 65 years and above who had participated in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2009). Subjects' characteristics, experience of chronic diseases, and level of suicidal ideation were analyzed, and logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the relationship between the experience of chronic diseases and suicidal ideation. The study shows that 27.7% of the subjects had suicidal ideation; with regard to chronic diseases, those suffering from lumbago, osteoporosis and anemia had higher levels of suicidal ideation, with lumbago being the most significant factor. For effective suicide prevention amongst the elderly, there needs to be not only physical chronic disease treatments, but also enhancement of efforts to provide consistent psychological support, and treatment for alleviation of pain and emotional disturbances for the elderly