68 suicide cases last year

The Health Bureau (SSM) has revealed that there were 68 cases of suicide in Macau in 2013. The overall suicide rate in the city last year was 11.5 per 100,000 people, but this number dropped to 9.3 per 100,000 people when only taking local residents into account.
Both numbers are lower than what the World Health Organization says is a standard high prevalence of 13 per 100,000 people, which means that the Macau region’s suicide rate is not high.
Among the victims, 55 of them were local residents, with 32 male and 23 female. In comparison with the figure from 2012, the overall suicide rate in Macau has dropped by 4.2 percent.
The bureau’s data shows that the most common reasons for people committing suicide are depression or emotional issues, gambling or financial problems, chronic diseases or other physical illnesses, and mental health issues.
SSM also stressed that there is no single factor that could cause a person to commit suicide.
In order to strengthen the service quality of the relevant professionals in Macau, the department of psychiatry from the Conde de São Januário Central Hospital (CHCSJ) will join SSM in organizing a seminar on 2014 World Mental Health Day on October 10.
Organizers hope that the seminar will draw the public’s attention to those battling psychiatric disorders.
Another seminar was organized recently seeking to strengthen the capacity of professionals to respond to cases of suicide.
It was also described as a chance to promote the crucial message of suicide prevention. About 150 professionals attended the seminar.