Discrepancy between the Status Quo and Adjusted Risk of First-Onset Suicidal Ideation in Older Adults: A Longitudinal Study Based on the Korean Welfare Panel Study (2011-2021)

Whether older adults can more likely commit suicide than those in other age groups, after adjusting for other possible causes, remains unknown. We aimed to examine why elderly individuals are more likely to develop first-onset suicidal ideation than individuals in other age groups. We identified 2018 young, 3329 middle-aged, and 2714 elderly individuals without a history of suicidal ideation, from the Korean Welfare Panel Study 2011-2021. To determine key stressors that can induce suicidal ideation, selected groups of variables were adjusted progressively in a generalized estimating equation (GEE) model. Incidence rates of the elderly, middle-aged, and young individuals were 15.9, 22.0, and 11.3 per 1000 person-years, respectively. In GEE analysis, a positive association was not noted between age group and suicidal ideation after adjusting for stressor variables. Furthermore, the overly adjusted model (Full model) showed a strong negative association with aging; young [odds ratio (OR): 1.68, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.35-2.11] and middle-aged (OR: 1.94, 95% CI: 1.38-2.73) individuals were more likely to develop first-onset suicidal ideation than the elderly. We found that full models, particularly assessing wealth rather than income, can explain why the elderly have higher suicide rates than those in other age groups.

Automated summary

It is unknown whether older adults are more likely to commit suicide than other age groups after adjusting for other causes. This study aims to understand why elderly individuals are more prone to develop suicidal thoughts compared to individuals in other age groups. By analyzing data from the Korean Welfare Panel Study, it was found that the incidence rates of suicidal ideation were highest among middle-aged individuals, followed by young individuals and then elderly individuals. However, after adjusting for various stressor variables, it was discovered that the elderly actually had a lower likelihood of developing first-onset suicidal ideation compared to younger age groups. The study suggests that the difference in wealth, rather than income, may explain why older adults have higher suicide rates.