Master Degree

Master Thesis

Characterizing Spatial Clusters of Increase in Suicide Rate during COVID-19 Pandemic in Japan, YANG YU HSIANG, 2023

Abstract

Background:

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Japan experienced an excess suicide rate compared to the pre-pandemic period, whereas most other countries experienced the opposite. Most studies have focused on the change in suicide rate in the timeline, but few have discussed the geographic variation in the impact of COVID-19 on the suicide rate.

Objectives:

This study aimed to detect spatial clusters of increased suicide rates during an acute significant event (COVID-19 in Japan) and their environmental characteristics. Subsequently, the spatial clusters of high suicide rates were used as comparisons to interpret the role of detecting spatial clusters of increased suicide rates.

Methods:

This study focused on four waves of virus outbreaks in Japan from April 2020 to June 2021, before the vaccine was implemented. This study considers non-isolated municipalities in Japan as the study area. After detecting the spatial clusters of increased suicide rates and high suicide rates, this study used multi-level logistic regression models to capture environmental characteristics.

Results:

Spatial clusters of increased suicide rates differed from those of high suicide rates. In terms of location, increased suicide rates tend to be clustered on the fringes of urban areas, whereas high suicide rates tend to be clustered in rural areas. In terms of environmental characteristics, increased suicide rates tended to cluster in places with higher COVID-19 infection rates, higher population densities, and lower single-household ratios. However, spatial clusters with high suicide rates tend to occur in areas with lower population densities and are unrelated to COVID-19 infection rates.

Interpretation:

This study shows that the detection of spatial clusters of “changes in suicide rates” during short-term extreme events (epidemics) might be more sensitive than the detection of clusters of suicide rates in detecting the impact of extreme events. This is because it can exclude inherent regional environmental factors and show geographic variation in the impact of events on suicide rates.

Master Thesis Link

YANG YU HSIANG's Master Thesis, Characterizing Spatial Clusters of Increase in Suicide Rate during COVID-19 Pandemic in Japan

Certificate of Oral Presentation at a Conference