J Korean Med Assoc JKMA Journal of the Korean Medical Association 1975-8456 2093-5951 Korean Medical Association 10.5124/jkma.2012.55.4.322 Focused Issue of This Month Depression and Suicide Epidemiologic studies on depression and suicide Jeon Hong Jin MD Depression Center, Department of Psychiatry, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. Corresponding author: Hong Jin Jeon, jeonhj@skku.edu 04 2012 13 04 2012 55 4 322 328 18 01 2012 05 02 2012 Copyright © 2012 Korean Medical Association 2012

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Major depressive disorder (MDD) is defined as a state of depressed mood, loss of volition and interest, feelings of guilt and worthlessness, sleep problems, poor appetite, loss of energy, and poor concentration, which causes disability in personal and social activities. Lifetime prevalence of MDD is 6.7% (4.8% in men and 9.1% in women), and has increased by 0.2% annually for the last decade. The risk factors for suicide are MDD, severity of the MDD episode, psychotic symptoms, first episode, and being male. The suicide rate was 31.2 per 100,000 persons in the 2010 report on Death and Causes of Death in Korea, which is the seventh highest incidence in men and first in women among 105 nations from the WHO report. The lifetime rate of suicide attempts in Korea is 3.2% according to the Epidemiological Survey of Mental Disorders in Korea 2011, which is higher than the rate of China, Japan, and Western countries. It is estimated that 1,200,000 persons in Korea have attempted suicide at some point within their lifetime. Seasonal variations in suicide indicate the association between suicide and MDD. Both rates of suicide and suicide attempts are the highest in May, when a total of 52.8% of those attempting suicide were diagnosed with MDD. Forty percent of recent suicide attempts are associated with MDD, and 73.7% with MDD or alcohol use disorder in the general population. In conclusion, suicide and suicide attempts are closely associated with MDD. Suicide is a medical condition that is treatable and preventable, and suicide rates can be reduced through early diagnosis and treatment for MDD and alcohol use disorder in Korea.

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Suicide rates per 100,000 by 105 countries (From WHO worldwide initiative for the prevention of suicide (SUPRE). WHO suicide prevention. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2010) [18].

Suicide diagram in Korean general population in 2011 (From Seoul National University College of Medicine. The epidemiological survey of mental disorders in Korea 2011. Seoul: Ministry of Health and Welfare; 2012) [5].

Cross-national comparisons of lifetime rate of suicide attempt. a)Africa: Nigeria, South Africa; the Americas: Colombia, Mexico, USA; Asia and the Pacific: Japan, New Zealand, Beijing and Shanghai in the People's Republic of China; Europe: Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain, Ukraine; and the Middle East: Israel, Lebanon.

Seasonal variation of diagnosis of mental disorders in suicidal attempters who visited emergency rooms (n=1,921) (From Korean Association for Suicide Prevention. Cause and risk factors for suicide among suicide attempters who visited emergency rooms. Seoul: Korean Association for Suicide Prevention; 2011) [25].

Prevalence of major depressive disorder (MDD) vs. non-MDD in Korean general population 2011 (From Seoul National University College of Medicine. The epidemiological survey of mental disorders in Korea 2011. Seoul: Ministry of Health and Welfare; 2012) [5].

Prevalence of major depressive disorder (MDD) or alcohol use disorder (ALC) vs. non-MDD or ALC in Korean general population 2011 (From Seoul National University College of Medicine. The epidemiological survey of mental disorders in Korea 2011. Seoul: Ministry of Health and Welfare; 2012) [5].