title: Risk Factors for Suicidal Ideation Among Telephone Crisis Hotline Callers in Japan.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Telephone hotlines are a widely used type of suicide prevention program.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to clarify the risk factors for suicidal ideation by investigating its association with a number of characteristics among telephone hotline callers.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were collected over a 10-year period from a total of 246,595 calls to Inochi No Denwa, a telephone crisis hotline in Ibaraki, Japan, and subsequently analyzed. Odds ratios for suicidal compared with nonsuicidal ideation were also calculated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  About 6% of the calls to the hotline were suicide related, and about 2% of the callers had attempted suicide in the past. Odds ratios for suicidal ideation increased during winter, but no daily tendencies were evident. Those whose problems were related to their way of life were at the highest risk of suicidal ideation, followed by those with health-related concerns.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We were able to identify risk factors for suicidal ideation based on an analysis of enormous amounts of data from a telephone crisis hotline in Japan. Knowledge of these risk factors is expected to lead to improvements in suicide prevention programs.
authors.affiliation: 1 Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Japan.|2 Hospital Bando, Ibaraki, Japan.
authors.forename: Shotaro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Doki
authors.affiliation: 1 Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Japan.|3 Soubu Hospital, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Hidetoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kaneko
authors.affiliation: 4 Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Oi
authors.affiliation: 4 Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazuya
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Usami
authors.affiliation: 4 Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
authors.forename: Shinichiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sasahara
authors.affiliation: 4 Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.|5 International Institute for Integrative Sleep Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
authors.forename: Ichiyo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Matsuzaki
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D054541:Family Conflict; D005260:Female; D015277:Hotlines / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D057226:Information Seeking Behavior; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007564:Japan; D007604:Juvenile Delinquency / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D011287:Prejudice / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012307:Risk Factors; D012621:Seasons; D012742:Sex Offenses / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012934:Social Isolation; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D059020:Suicidal Ideation; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: counselor; day; month; suicidal ideation; telephone hotlines