A statistical investigation into the relationship between meteorological parameters and suicide

Dixon, Keith W.; Shulman, Mark D.

doi:10.1007/bf02185738

Cited by 35 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Results also conflicted when Bouma and Tromp (1972) found a positive correlation between suicides and sudden changes in weather, but Dixon and Shulman (1983) did not. More recently, studies showed that the more sunshine there is, the fewer suicides there are (Thorson and Kasworm 1984;Linkowski et al 1992), while Maes et al (1994) and Salib and Gray (1997) found the opposite to be true.…”

Section: Introductioncontrasting

confidence: 47%

Weather and emotional state: a search for associations between weather and calls to telephone counseling services

Driscoll

Stillman²

2002

International Journal of Biometeorology

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Previous research has revealed that an emotional response to weather might be indicated by calls to telephone counseling services. We analyzed call frequency from such "hotlines", each serving communities in a major metropolitan area of the United States (Detroit, Washington DC, Dallas and Seattle). The periods examined were all, or parts of, the years 1997 and 1998. Associations with subjectively derived synoptic weather types for all cities except Seattle, as well as with individual weather elements [cloudiness (sky cover), precipitation, windspeed, and interdiurnal temperature change] for all four cities, were investigated. Analysis of variance and t-tests (significance of means) were applied to test the statistical significance of differences. Although statistically significant results were obtained in scattered instances, the total number was within that expected by chance, and there was little in the way of consistency to these associations. One clear exception was the increased call frequency during destructive (severe) weather, when there is obvious concern about the damage done by it.

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Section: Introductioncontrasting

confidence: 47%

Weather and emotional state: a search for associations between weather and calls to telephone counseling services

Driscoll

Stillman²

2002

International Journal of Biometeorology

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“…Weather has an impact on individuals in their habitat at the social, psychological and physiological levels, and this may be seen in a range of behaviours (Voracek et al 2007). So far, however, no specific meteorological condition can be labelled as "suicide weather" (Dixon and Shulman 1983;Yan 2000;Deisenhammer 2003;Lee et al 2006). Higher temperatures appear to increase the risk of suicide (Lee et al 2006;Page et al 2007;Preti et al 2007), but negative correlations have also been found (Souêtre et al 1987(Souêtre et al , 1989, as well as no correlation at all (Partonen et al 2004b;Dixon et al 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Climate impact on suicide rates in Finland from 1971 to 2003

et al. 2008

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Seasonal patterns of death from suicide are well-documented and have been attributed to climatic factors such as solar radiation and ambient temperature. However, studies on the impact of weather and climate on suicide are not consistent, and conflicting data have been reported. In this study, we performed a correlation analysis between nationwide suicide rates and weather variables in Finland during the period 1971-2003. The weather parameters studied were global solar radiation, temperature and precipitation, and a range of time spans from 1 month to 1 year were used in order to elucidate the dose-response relationship, if any, between weather variables and suicide. Single and multiple linear regression models show weak associations using 1-month and 3-month time spans, but robust associations using a 12-month time span. Cumulative global solar radiation had the best explanatory power, while average temperature and cumulative precipitation had only a minor impact on suicide rates. Our results demonstrate that winters with low global radiation may increase the risk of suicide. The best correlation found was for the 5-month period from November to March; the inter-annual variability in the cumulative global radiation for that period explained 40 % of the variation in the male suicide rate and 14 % of the variation in the female suicide rate, both at a statistically significant level. Long-term variations in global radiation may also explain, in part, the observed increasing trend in the suicide rate until 1990 and the decreasing trend since then in Finland.

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“…Unfortunately, many of these relationships are based primarily on statistical correlations that do not necessarily equate to causal relationships, and many studies yield conflicting results due to varying methods, data sources, study periods, etc. (Deisenhammer 2003;Dixon and Shulman 1983;Driscoll 1971). However, these statistical relationships are usually among the first steps to identifying possible effects of weather on human health.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Effects of temperature variation on suicide in five U.S. counties, 1991–2001

et al. 2007

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Effects of weather variables on suicide are well-documented, but there is still little consistency among the results of most studies. Nevertheless, most studies show a peak in suicides during the spring season, and this is often attributed to increased temperatures. The purpose of this study is to test the relationship between monthly temperature and monthly suicide, independent of months or seasons, for five counties located across the United States. Harmonic analysis shows that four of the five counties display some seasonal components in the suicide data. However, simple linear regression shows no correlation between suicide and temperature, and discriminant analysis shows that monthly departure from mean annual suicide rates is not a useful tool for identifying months with temperatures that are colder or warmer than the annual average. Therefore, it appears that the seasonality of suicides is due to factors other than temperature.

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A statistical investigation into the relationship between meteorological parameters and suicide

Cited by 35 publications

References 3 publications

Weather and emotional state: a search for associations between weather and calls to telephone counseling services

Weather and emotional state: a search for associations between weather and calls to telephone counseling services

Climate impact on suicide rates in Finland from 1971 to 2003

Effects of temperature variation on suicide in five U.S. counties, 1991–2001

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