Understanding Suicide Risk in People with Dementia and Family Caregivers in South Korea: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Dementia-related suicide is not well known. This study aimed to understand the characteristics of suicide risk among people with dementia and dementia family caregivers in South Korea. According to a systematic review of PRISMA guidelines, six electronic databases were searched for research published from 2010 to 2021. Ten studies were included. Among the included studies on people with dementia, one study (25%) showed no increase in the death risk of suicide, while three studies (75%) revealed suicide risk. Furthermore, in the dementia family caregivers, one study (17%) reported suicides and five studies (83%) reported suicide ideation (SI). Early dementia and independence or partial dependence in activities of daily living and home-based care are related to suicide risk in people with dementia. Meanwhile, suicide risk in dementia family caregivers is related to care burden, dementia severity, and poor approaches to coping with the family member’s dementia. The studies reviewed, which demonstrate heterogenous methodologies, suggest that both people with dementia and dementia family caregivers face suicide risk. The results of the current study offer insights useful for the prevention and treatment of mental health issues in both groups.

The moderating effect of care time on care-related characteristics and caregiver burden: differences between formal and informal caregivers of dependent older adults

“…However, due to changes in social situations such as changes in family structure (smaller families), women’s labor force participation, and an increase in the number of older adults living alone, care by children is expected to decrease in the future ( 24 ). Long-term informal care is a tremendous burden for informal caregivers ( 11 ), both older adults and caregivers of their family caregivers were found to be at increased risk of suicide based on a systematic literature review in Korea ( 9 ).…”

“…Recently, although many studies have been conducted on the caregiver burden of older adults in Korea, they separately have analyzed formal caregivers ( 26 ) or informal caregivers ( 9 , 17 ). There were limitations in exploring and comparing the differences in the degree of care burden and influencing factors between formal and informal caregivers.…”

Living with dementia: Why I am thinking of ‘death’

“…Some studies indicate that lack of support and financial stress is associated with suicide thoughts in PWD and their family caregivers ( Joling et al, 2018 ; Zucca et al, 2019 ). A systematic review found that care burden, dementia severity, and poor approaches to coping are suicide risk factors for South Korean family caregivers whilst losing independence, depression and at home care were identified as suicide risk factors for people with dementia ( Kong & Park, 2022 ). Loneliness, social exclusion, and ‘feeling burdened’ were also found to be suicide risk factors amongst people with dementia ( Álvarez Muñoz et al, 2020 ).…”

Menopausal hormone therapy and risk of dementia: health insurance database in South Korea-based retrospective cohort study

“…et al, 2022 ). Additionally, the burden of dementia in Korea is an important issue and is expected to increase considerably, and the annual management cost per patient was approximately 20.72 million won in 2019 ( Kong and Park, 2022 ). The cost of managing dementia at the national level is estimated to be 16.5 trillion won (approximately 0.86% of GDP), which is expected to increase to 63 trillion won by 2040 ( Park et al, 2013 ; Kong and Park, 2022 ).…”