Occurrence of suicide and seasonal variation

Abstract

ObjectiveTo review the estimated suicide rates for the Region Metropolitan, the main socio-political center in Chile, for the period 1979-1994, and to determine whether they follow a seasonal pattern. MethodData available for the period 1979-94 at the Forensic Services in Chile was analyzed using Analyses of variance. ResultsIt was register 5,386 suicides. While the "war m" months (October, November, December & January) concentrated 39.0% of cases, the so called "cold" months reported 28.7%. This contrast is made even clearer by the month-tomonth analysis, showing the highest suicide rate in December (10.6%) against the lowest rate in June (7.0%). Further statistical analysis revealed these differences to be significant. ConclusionThe study shows that in Chile, representing as it does the Southern Hemisphere, the suicide rates tend to present a seasonal variation as has elsewhere been determined for in the North Hemisphere.Suicide, tendency. Seasonal affective disorder. Resumo

Estudo ecológico sobre os possíveis determinantes socioeconômicos, demográficos e fisiográficos do suicídio no Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, 1998-2002

“…Essa observação fica mais clara pela análise mês a mês, demonstrando taxas mais altas em dezembro (10,6%) e mais baixas em junho (7%). Por meio de análises estatísticas ficou demonstrado que a diferença é significativa 26 .…”

Seasonality of suicide in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil, 1979-2003

“…2 Similarly, in South America, a study was carried out in the city of Santiago, Chile, where again a seasonal pattern was found in the rates of suicide. 3 The mechanism underlying seasonality is not yet known. Some hypotheses have been proposed to explain this phenomenon.…”

Les dimensions temporelles du suicide : une hypothèse*

“…Par exemple, en Angleterre, Barer et al (1994) ont observé que le nombre de décès par suicide le plus élevé s'observe en mai et en juin, alors que le nombre le moins élevé s'observe en décembre et en janvier. En revanche, au Chili, Retamal et Humphreys (1998) ont constaté que le taux de suicide le plus élevé survient en décembre, alors que le moins élevé s'observe en juin.…”