Aims: The relationship between suicide and disaster is an important problem but it's not clear. We conducted this study to determine whether a natural disaster affects suicide rates.
Methods: We collected data on suicides during the 84 months before and the 60 months after the earthquake and compared the suicide rate in Kobe to that in Japan as a whole. We also examined what groups were significantly affected.
Results: Compared with Japan as a whole, the suicide rates in Kobe significantly decreased in the 2 years after the earthquake.
Conclusions: An influence on suicide rate after the disaster clearly appeared in middle-aged men.