Overall, this study confirms a general relationship between the economic environment and suicide rates; however, it does not support there being a clear causal relationship between the current economic crisis and an increase in the suicide rate.

BackgroundIt is well known that suicidal rates vary considerably among European countries and the reasons for this are unknown, although several theories have been proposed. The effect of economic variables has been extensively studied but not that of climate.MethodsData from 29 European countries covering the years 2000–2012 and concerning male and female standardized suicidal rates (according to WHO), economic variables (according World Bank) and climate variables were gathered. The statistical analysis included cluster and principal component analysis and categorical regression.ResultsThe derived models explained 62.4 % of the variability of male suicidal rates. Economic variables alone explained 26.9 % and climate variables 37.6 %. For females, the respective figures were 41.7, 11.5 and 28.1 %. Male suicides correlated with high unemployment rate in the frame of high growth rate and high inflation and low GDP per capita, while female suicides correlated negatively with inflation. Both male and female suicides correlated with low temperature.DiscussionThe current study reports that the climatic effect (cold climate) is stronger than the economic one, but both are present. It seems that in Europe suicidality follows the climate/temperature cline which interestingly is not from south to north but from south to north-east. This raises concerns that climate change could lead to an increase in suicide rates. The current study is essentially the first successful attempt to explain the differences across countries in Europe; however, it is an observational analysis based on aggregate data and thus there is a lack of control for confounders.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12991-016-0106-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Health systems across the world remain significantly fragmented, affecting access, quality and costs of the care delivered. Strengthening health systems is a global health challenge for all countries: low, middle and high income. According to the World Health Organization the key components of a well functioning health system, namely, leadership and governance, health information systems, health financing, human resources for health, essential medical products and technologies, and services delivery are sine qua non for health systems functioning and strengthening (WHO, 2010). Psychiatry and primary care integration are contributions the house of medicine can make to address fragmentation, access, quality and costs.

association newsPhotos by David Hathcox cean vistas, nonstop sunshine, and balmy temperatures proved to be an irresistable lure for more than 10,600 people who came to Honolulu last month for APA's 164th annual meeting.Also drawing psychiatrists and others to the shores of Waikiki-many in aloha shirts, shorts, and other casual attire-was the chance to explore sessions with leading experts who presented cutting-edge research and the latest clinical developments and to hear from well-known figures such as Archbishop Desmond Tutu.APA's next scientific meeting-to take place in another spectacular setting-comes this fall, when the Institute on Psychiatric Services will be held in San Francisco October 27 to 30.

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