During the same period, there also were significant increases in suicide and mental illness. China had one of the highest suicide rates in the world in the 1990s: 23.2 suicides per 100,000 people per year from 1995 to 1999, a rate which gradually fell to 7.8 per 100,000 by 2012. Mental health reports, on the other hand, increased as suicide rates fell (perhaps because more individuals sought treatment): inpatient admissions to mental hospitals increased 13.4 percent from 2007-2012; outpatient visits, 12.4 percent. Mental health services have historically had low priority in China, and the issue has only recently surfaced in the public domain.
Read Full Article »
