Influence on the suicide rate two years after a devastating disaster: a report from the 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake.
OBJECTIVE
The relationship between suicide and disaster is an important problem but it's not clear. We conducted this study to determine whether a natural disaster affects suicide rates.


METHODS
We collected data on suicides during the 84 months before and the 60 months after the earthquake and compared the suicide rate in Kobe to that in Japan as a whole. We also examined what groups were significantly affected.


RESULTS
Compared with Japan as a whole, the suicide rates in Kobe significantly decreased in the 2 years after the earthquake.


CONCLUSIONS
An influence on suicide rate after the disaster clearly appeared in middle-aged men.
Nishio
Akihiro
A
Department of Psychiatry, Gifu University Graduate School of Medicine, Gifu, Japan. a-nishio@qa3.so-net.ne.jp
Akazawa
Kouhei
K
Shibuya
Futoshi
F
Abe
Ryo
R
Nushida
Hideyuki
H
Ueno
Yasuhiro
Y
Nishimura
Akiyoshi
A
Shioiri
Toshiki
T