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Suicide rates on the rise, says forum

Suicide rates * Last year 15.3 people out of every 100,000 people committed suicide * In 1994, only 6.2 people per 100,000 committed suicide * Depression increased in the wake of the 921 earthquake in 1999 * In 1999 in Nantou County, 16.7 people per 100,000 committed suicide * By 2001, that figure had risen to 22.9 people per 100,000 Source: Department of Health

Civic groups attending a forum for depression and suicide prevention warned yesterday that the nation's suicide rate has risen dramatically over the past decade, and that it is often closely linked to depression. They also noted that suicide was ranked ninth in the nation's top 10 causes of death last year.

Nationwide last year, 15.3 people out of every 100,000 committed suicide compared to 1994, when only 6.2 per 100,000 did, according to Department of Health (DOH) statistics.

DOH Minister Hou Sheng-mou (侯勝茂) stressed that suicide-prevention and depression are inseparable issues and must be dealt with together.

Hou also said that he was happy with the current levels of cooperation between the government and civic groups in dealing with the situation.

Lee Ming-been (李明濱), director of the Taiwan Association for Depression Prevention, said that studies have shown that 15 percent of those with depression commit suicide.

Depression increased in the country following the 921 earthquake in 1999, Lee said. The disaster had a deep psychological impact on the people, he added.

Experts said that before the earthquake struck, the suicide rate in Nantou County was already one of the highest in Taiwan.

In 1999, 16.7 people per 100,000 committed suicide, and according to studies, two years after the earthquake that figure had risen to 22.9 per 100,000.

DOH figures indicate that suicide is most common in men age between 25 and 64. However, recent studies carried out by the John Tung Foundation (JTF) showed that 24.1 percent of the nation's college students, age 18 to 24, suffer from severe depression.

Yeh Ya-hsing (葉雅馨), a JTF representative, said that employment problems, relationships, planning for the future and money were the main causes of depression in college students.

There is also a link between Internet usage and depression for adolescents between the ages of 12 to 18, Yeh said.

Yeh added that 27.8 percent of youths in that age group suffered from depression and the time they spent on the Internet chatting and writing email increased as their depression worsened, since adolescents choose to turn to their online friends to talk about problems instead of talking to their parents.
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