Temperature-associated suicide mortality: contrasting roles of climatic warming and the suicide prevention program in Finland.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Suicide is a notable cause of death worldwide, and while suicidal behavior appears to be associated with variations in temperature, no estimations are available of climate change impacts on suicide rates. The study aims to evaluate the influence of temperature on suicide mortality, especially on multi-decadal and longer time scales, that is, at scales on which the ongoing warming distinctly operates and is correspondingly appropriate for the current policy responses to warming climate.

Methods

Our results are based on an extraordinarily long record of deaths from suicide in Finland from 1751 to 2008, and a similarly long climatic record of ambient temperatures correlative of environmental change in the study region.

Results

We show that temperature variabil

SUBMITTER: Helama S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3773099 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature