With Father's Day approaching, a local academic group urged Taiwanese people Monday to pay more attention to their fathers' or male family members' and friends' emotional well-being as the suicide rate among men here is far higher than that of women's. Statistics released by the Cabinet-level Department of Health (DOH) showed that the suicide rate among Taiwanese men was 24.3 per 100,000 in 2008 - 2.1 times higher than that of women, which stood at 11.5 per 100,000. These figures do not include attempted but unsuccessful suicides. Suicides by both men and women claimed 4,128 lives last year, making it the ninth top cause of death in Taiwan. The ranking marked a one-notch rise from 2007 and the 2008 overall suicide rate in Taiwan rose by 3.3 percent from the year-earlier level. Lee Ming-pin, president of the Taiwanese Society of Suicidology (TSOS) , said that men are traditionally more reluctant to seek counseling or help when faced with emotional problems. 'Therefore, children should be concerned about not just their fathers' physical health, but also their mental health while celebrating Father's Day,' Lee suggested. According to stereotypes, men are often assumed to be stronger and more able to handle stress. But Lee said an analysis of the surveys conducted by the TSOS and the DOH-run Suicide Prevention Center between 2006 and 2008 shows that quite a number of emotionally-disturbed men had considered committing suicide. Of the men suffering from emotional disturbances, 23.3 percent had contemplated suicide, according to the surveys. The surveys also found that the percentage of men who wanted to commit suicide was far higher among men suffering from depression - 25.3 times higher - than that of men who were not suffering from depression. 'The findings indicate that men could be vulnerable to emotional disturbances and even had suicide intent when facing setbacks or heavy stress,' Lee explained. In June, Lee said, the society's counseling hotline received 187 phone calls from men who expressed a desire to kill themselves. The number made up 7 percent of total male callers. Suicide, financial problems and welfare services were the most often mentioned issues by those male callers, Lee said. According to the surveys, the male suicide success rate was the highest among men aged 65 or older, reaching 48.4 per 100,000 or two times the average suicide fatality rate for men. Those in the 45-64 age group were the second highest - at 35.1 per 100,000 or 1.4 times the male average. In terms of actual numbers, men in the 25-44 age group had the largest share of suicide deaths - 1,123 men or 39.8 percent of total male suicide deaths recorded last year. The surveys also found that among this age group, which has the highest risk of committing suicide, married men were more likely to have thought about suicide when faced with unemployment than their unmarried counterparts. They were 1.29 times more likely to have had such thoughts than single men. 'The phenomenon might be related to the fact that men are traditionally supposed to be the breadwinners of their families, ' Lee said. He suggested that all family members should show more concern to one another and give each other emotional support. Each year, the TSOS conducts a nationwide survey of the suicide situation, with samples collected ranging between 1,500 and 2,000. 