Among all age groups, suicide has become the fifth major killer, behind cerebrovascular disease, bronchitis, liver cancer and pneumonia. It accounts for 3.6 prcent of all deaths each year in China, the survey revealed.

Last year, 287,000 people died of suicide. The female rate is 25 prcent higher than the male rate, and the rate for rural women is higher still.

A research team led by both Chinese and foreign psychologists under Beijing's Huilongguan Hospital began suicide-related studies in 1995. The team now provides information for government policy-making.

Li Xianyun, a psychologist with the team, said that the researchers' findings showed that suicide had developed into the leading cause of death among people between 15 and 34 years of age, and suicide accounted for nearly one-third of all deaths of rural women in this age group.

Li said that limited opportunities and social support networks for rural women in China, combined with a lack of strong cultural or religious taboos against suicide, may play a role in the unusually high suicide rate among women.

Many women in some remote rural areas seek extreme ways to express their desperation, Li said. The situation is better in urban areas, but sharply increased competition in modern society has driven many vulnerable women to commit suicide as a way to escape tough problems.

The ready availability of lethal pesticides and a lack of medical personnel in rural areas also increase the likelihood that impulsive suicidal behavior will result in death.

Another phenomenon that worries researchers is that the survey showed only 7 prcent of potential suicides had sought psychological assistance before committing suicide.

The central government has been notified of the situation, and China's first suicide-prevention organization -- the Beijing Psychological Crisis Research and Intervention Center -- will open to the public next Tuesday.

The center will provide more detailed suggestions on suicide-prevention measures in various ways, such as via the Internet, telephone hotlines and face-to-face consultations.

(China Daily November 29, 2002)