title: Gender-specific differences among patients treated for suicide attempts in the emergency departments of four general hospitals in Shenyang, China.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We aimed to identify gender-specific characteristics of suicide attempters admitted to general hospital emergency departments in urban China.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM-IV, the Suicide Ideation Scale, the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and a quality of life measure were administered to 239 suicide attempters who were treated consecutively in the emergency departments of four general hospitals randomly selected in Shenyang, China.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among the 239 enrolled subjects, 53 (22.2%) were men, and 186 (77.8%) were women. Compared to women, men were more likely to be a minority, live with their families and/or suffer from substance-related disorders. Men were less likely to be living alone or cohabitating. Women were more likely to express suicide ideation compared with men. Thirty-seven (69.8%) men and 129 (69.4%) women had mental illness. The prevalence of psychiatric diagnosis was not significantly different between men and women (χ(2)=.004, df=1, P=.95).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The rate of attempted suicide is higher among women than among men in the emergency departments of urban China. Except for race, living situation and suicide ideation, there are few gender differences regarding socio-demographic and clinical characteristics in the current study that are not consistent with reports from other countries. However, similar to other studies, men are more likely to suffer from substance-related disorders than are women. The unique, gender-specific characteristics pertaining to suicide attempters in urban China emphasizes the need for gender-specific interventions in future clinical treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, First Affiliated Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang 110001, PR China.
authors.forename: Shengnan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Hongfei
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bi
authors.forename: Haiyan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Jinglin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.forename: Shanyong
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Xu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Guanghui
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.forename: Xiaoxia
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Qin
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005260:Female; D006769:Hospitals, General; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008913:Minority Groups / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012737:Sex Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D059020:Suicidal Ideation; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult