Higher Environmental Temperature and Global Radiation Are Correlated With Increasing Suicidality—A Localized Data Analysis

Abstract

Suicide rate follows a seasonal pattern that is related to rising air temperature and global radiation. These findings are reproducible within different climatic regions. Numerous studies have attempted to explain this peak in relation to weather. However, many of these studies did not use meteorological data representative of the site of the suicide or attempted suicide, resulting in limitations of the findings. Previous studies also suffered from limitations in the methods of data analysis. The current study examined the relationship between weather, i.e., solar radiation, air temperature, and the rate of suicides and suicidality in the area of Mittelfranken, Germany, using regional meteorological data. Statistical risk estimation revealed associations between higher global radiation and air temperatures on the day of and day before suicide acts. The results could be of interest for general suicide prevention strategies. Future studies should examine additional possible factors of influence and concentrate on a strict standardized study design. The aim is to obtain reproducible data of the seasonal influences on suicide behavior, allowing for the comparison of data from different meteorological regions and patient subgroups. (Author correspondence: [email protected])

Keywords:

• Data acquisition
• Meteorological influencing factors
• Meteorological rhythm
• Season
• Suicidal tendency
• Suicide prevention

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank Mr. Felix Aurnhammer for his help compiling the figures.

Declaration of Interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.