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Association of Weekly Suicide Rates with Temperature Anomalies in Two Different Climate Types

Author

Listed:
  • P. Grady Dixon

    (Department of Geosciences, Fort Hays State University, Hays, KS 67601, USA)

  • Mark Sinyor

    (Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M4N 3M5, Canada)

  • Ayal Schaffer

    (Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M4N 3M5, Canada)

  • Anthony Levitt

    (Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M4N 3M5, Canada)

  • Christa R. Haney

    (Department of Geosciences, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS 39762, USA)

  • Kelsey N. Ellis

    (Department of Geography, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA)

  • Scott C. Sheridan

    (Department of Geography, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242, USA)

Abstract

Annual suicide deaths outnumber the total deaths from homicide and war combined. Suicide is a complex behavioral endpoint, and a simple cause-and-effect model seems highly unlikely, but relationships with weather could yield important insight into the biopsychosocial mechanisms involved in suicide deaths. This study has been designed to test for a relationship between air temperature and suicide frequency that is consistent enough to offer some predictive abilities. Weekly suicide death totals and anomalies from Toronto, Ontario, Canada (1986–2009) and Jackson, Mississippi, USA (1980–2006) are analyzed for relationships by using temperature anomaly data and a distributed lag nonlinear model. For both analysis methods, anomalously cool weeks show low probabilities of experiencing high-end suicide totals while warmer weeks are more likely to experience high-end suicide totals. This result is consistent for Toronto and Jackson. Weekly suicide totals demonstrate a sufficient association with temperature anomalies to allow some prediction of weeks with or without increased suicide frequency. While this finding alone is unlikely to have immediate clinical implications, these results are an important step toward clarifying the biopsychosocial mechanisms of suicidal behavior through a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between temperature and suicide.

Suggested Citation

  • P. Grady Dixon & Mark Sinyor & Ayal Schaffer & Anthony Levitt & Christa R. Haney & Kelsey N. Ellis & Scott C. Sheridan, 2014. "Association of Weekly Suicide Rates with Temperature Anomalies in Two Different Climate Types," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-18, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:11:y:2014:i:11:p:11627-11644:d:42244
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Pui Hing Chau & Paul Siu Fai Yip & Eric Ho Yin Lau & Yee Ting Ip & Frances Yik Wa Law & Rainbow Tin Hung Ho & Angela Yee Man Leung & Janet Yuen Ha Wong & Jean Woo, 2020. "Hot Weather and Suicide Deaths among Older Adults in Hong Kong, 1976–2014: A Retrospective Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(10), pages 1-16, May.
    2. Julián Alfredo Fernández-Niño & Víctor Alfonso Flórez-García & Claudia Iveth Astudillo-García & Laura Andrea Rodríguez-Villamizar, 2018. "Weather and Suicide: A Decade Analysis in the Five Largest Capital Cities of Colombia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-11, June.
    3. Eric Jonathon Osborne‐Christenson, 2022. "Saving light, losing lives: How daylight saving time impacts deaths from suicide and substance abuse," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(S2), pages 40-68, October.

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