Klecany, Central Bohemia, Sept 10 (CTK) – Suicide is the second most common cause of death among young Czechs aged from 15 to 29, but the country has no general prevention programme to try to lower the number of those who commit suicide, according to experts from the National Institute of Mental Health (NUDZ).
The suicide rate in the country is above both the European Union average and the world average.
About four people a day and 1500 people a year commit suicide in the Czech Republic with a population of 10.5 million.
Mental diseases increase the risk of suicide. Doctors should more focus on the treatment of depression and follow-up care of psychiatric patients.
Psychiatrist Petr Winkler, from the NUDZ, said suicide is the most common cause of death among teenage girls aged from 15 to 19. Among Czech women in their 20s, suicide is responsible for 30 percent of their deaths. Globally, the highest suicide rate is among people aged over 69 years, he said.
Winkler and another Czech psychiatrist, Cyril Hoschl, are members of a team of experts from 17 countries who worked out a statement on suicide prevention with proposals for improvement of the situation.
Emphasis is put on the prevention of suicides by limiting the access to the devices that can be used to commit suicide, treatment of depression through pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy, securing follow-up care and further prevention programmes, Winkler said.
He said the NUDZ plans to issue a guide for journalists providing information on how to correctly refer about suicides. “It has been proved that insensitive media practice may lead to a wave of similar suicides, especially if an attractive celebrity such as a popular football player or a pop singer commit suicide,” Winkler said.
The total number of suicides committed in the Czech Republic started steadily falling in the 2000s, but after 2008 it began to increase again.
