Seasonality of Suicides among Victims Who Are under the Influence of Alcohol

Dorota Lasota, Witold Pawłowski, Paweł Krajewski, Anna Staniszewska, Krzysztof Goniewicz and Mariusz Goniewicz
Additional contact information
Dorota Lasota: Department of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology, Medical University of Warsaw, Banacha 1b Street, 02097 Warsaw, Poland
Witold Pawłowski: Department of Disaster Medicine, Medical University of Warsaw, Żwirki i Wigury 61 Street, 02091 Warsaw, Poland
Paweł Krajewski: Department of Forensic Medicine, Medical University of Warsaw, Oczki 1 Street, 00001 Warsaw, Poland
Anna Staniszewska: Department of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology, Medical University of Warsaw, Banacha 1b Street, 02097 Warsaw, Poland
Krzysztof Goniewicz: Department of Security Studies, Polish Air Force Academy, Dywizjonu 303 35 Street, 08521 Dęblin, Poland
Mariusz Goniewicz: Department of Emergency Medicine, Medical University of Lublin, Staszica 4-6 Street, 20081 Lublin, Poland

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 15, 1-9

Abstract: Introduction: Suicide is one of the most frequent causes of death. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), each year, over eight hundred thousand people worldwide die as a result of suicide. The most common risk factors for suicide are depressive disorders and alcohol dependence. Alcohol can directly influence a decision about suicide, or be a factor facilitating this decision. The aim of the study was to analyse the seasonality of suicides among persons under the influence of alcohol. Material and Methods: Data for analysis were obtained from the Department of Forensic Medicine (DFM) of the Medical University of Warsaw. A retrospective analysis was performed on 317 victims of suicides by hanging, those which were entered into the registry of deaths kept by the DFM in the years 2009–2013. The analysis took into account the age and sex of victims, initial cause of death, date of post-mortem examination, autopsy result and alcohol concentration in the blood or muscles of the victims. Statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 20. Results: In the analysis, a spring peak of suicides was found for men, and an autumn peak was revealed for women. In addition, a significant correlation was observed between the age of victims and the concentration of alcohol; the older the victims, the higher the alcohol concentration. However, this correlation was reported only in the spring months. Conclusions: The results of the analysis seem to be consistent with seasonal patterns observed in other studies, and they indicate the occurrence of suicide seasonality. In order to improve the strategies of suicide prevention, it is necessary to identify factors which are related to the seasonal variation of suicidal behaviours, as well as to gain knowledge about the mechanisms behind this phenomenon.

Keywords: suicide; seasonality; alcohol dependence (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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