Spatiotemporal Patterns of Suicide in Korea From 2009 to 2019 Using Geographic Information Systems

OBJECTIVE: When analyzing factors related to suicide, it is necessary to consider the regional characteristics of the areas where individuals live in addition to individual factors. This study aimed to investigate the spatiotemporal association between suicide rates and geographic features and the patterns of this association for all administrative areas in South Korea from 2009 to 2019. METHODS: The data used in this study were obtained from the National Statistical Office of the Korean Statistical Information Service. For suicide rates, age-standardized mortality index data per 100 000 people were used. All administrative districts from 2009 to 2019 were divided into 229 regions. Emerging hotspot analysis was used for a 3-dimensional analysis to simultaneously evaluate temporal and spatial clusters. RESULTS: In the 229 regions, there were 27 (11.8%) hotspots and 60 (26.2%) cold spots. Hotspot pattern analysis found 2 (0.9%) new spots, 1 (0.4%) persistent spot, 23 (10.0%) sporadic spots, and 1 (0.4%) oscillating spot. CONCLUSION: This study found geographic differences in the spatiotemporal patterns of suicide rates in South Korea. The utilization of national resources for suicide prevention should be selectively and intensively prioritized in 3 areas that exhibit unique spatiotemporal patterns.