Author/Editor		Aihara, Hitsunori; Aihara, Mariko
Title		Seasonal changes in the suicide in relation to daylight hours
Type		članek
Source		In: Hočevar A, Črepinšek Z, Kajfež-Bogataj L, editors. Biometeorology 14. Proceedings of the 14th international congress of biometeorology. Part 2. (Vol 3); 1996 Sep 1-8; Ljubljana. Ljubljana: Slovenian meteorological society,
Publication year		1996
Volume		str. 5-10
Language		eng
Abstract		We investigated the association between the suicide rate and mean temperature, highest temperature, lowest temperature, diurnal temperature range (the highest temperature minus the lowest temperature), mean humidity, daylight hours and seasonal changes in regard to 1173 suicides in Kanagawa Prefecture during the four years from 1989 to 1992. Although the observation period was short (only four years), seasonal changes in the number of suicides yielded two peakrs: a large peak in spring and a small peak in autumn. mental condition is an important background factor for suicide, and the incidence of mental disorders increases in spring and early summer, and increases slightly in autumn as well. The suicide appears to be closely associated with daylight hours. Good correspondence was noted between monthly daylight hours and peak number of suicides at several points, indicating that daylight hours have a significant effect on the number of suicides. When the relation between suicide rate and monthly mean temperature was examined, the suicide rate was found to be highest when the mean temperature was in the 8 degrees C to 20 degrees C range. Assessment of the relationship to monthly mean humidity showed that the number of suicides tended to increase in both men and women when the mean humidity exceeded 70%.
Descriptors		SUICIDE CIRCADIAN RHYTHM TEMPERATURE HUMIDITY SEASONS AUTOPSY