The Effect of Meteorological, Pollution, and Geographic Exposures on Death by Suicide: A Scoping Review

Sarah L Cornelius, Tara Berry, Amanda J Goodrich, Brian Shiner, Natalie B Riblet, Sarah L Cornelius, Tara Berry, Amanda J Goodrich, Brian Shiner, Natalie B Riblet

Abstract

Suicide is a significant public health concern worldwide and in the United States. Despite the far-reaching impact of suicide, risk factors are still not well understood and efforts to accurately assess risk have fallen short. Current research has highlighted how potentially modifiable environmental exposures (i.e., meteorological, pollution, and geographic exposures) can affect suicide risk. A scoping review was conducted to evaluate the strength of the historical and current literature on the environment's effect on suicide and suicide risk. Three databases (i.e., Medline, Embase, and PsychInfo) were reviewed to identify relevant studies and two authors independently reviewed studies considering pre-determined inclusion criteria. A total of 46 meteorological studies were included as well as 23 pollution studies and 12 geographic studies. Descriptive statistics, including counts, percentages, review of studies' sample size (minimum, maximum, median, and interquartile range), were calculated using Excel and SAS 9.4. Overall, strong evidence supports that exposure to sunlight, temperature, air pollution, pesticides, and high altitude increases suicide risk, although effect sizes range from very small to small.

Keywords: altitude; geography; meteorology; pollution; suicide; weather.

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results. Opinions are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs or the Office of Rural Health.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA flow diagram of study inclusion.

References

    1. WHO . Suicide in the World: Global Health Estimates. WHO; Geneva, Switzerland: 2019.
    1. CDC Preventing Suicide. [(accessed on 21 April 2020)];2020 Available online: .
    1. Stone D., Holland K., Bartholow B., Crosby A., Davis S., Wilkins N. Preventing Suicide: A Technical Package of Policy, Programs, and Practices. CDC; Atlanta, GA, USA: 2017.
    1. Turecki G., Brent D.A., Gunnell D., O’Connor R.C., Oquendo M.A., Pirkis J., Stanley B.H. Suicide and suicide risk. Nat. Rev. Dis. Primers. 2019;5:74. doi: 10.1038/s41572-019-0121-0.
    1. Hawton K., van Heeringen K. Suicide. Lancet. 2009;373:1372–1381. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(09)60372-X.
    1. Mann J.J., Currier D. Stress, genetics and epigenetic effects on the neurobiology of suicidal behavior and depression. Eur. Psychiatry. 2010;25:268–271. doi: 10.1016/j.eurpsy.2010.01.009.
    1. Van Heeringen K., Mann J.J. The neurobiology of suicide. Lancet Psychiatry. 2014;1:63–72. doi: 10.1016/S2215-0366(14)70220-2.
    1. Turecki G., Brent D.A. Suicide and suicidal behaviour. Lancet. 2016;387:1227–1239. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(15)00234-2.
    1. Costanza A., Amerio A., Aguglia A., Escelsior A., Serafini G., Berardelli I., Pompili M., Amore M. When Sick Brain and Hopelessness Meet: Some Aspects of Suicidality in the Neurological Patient. CNS Neurol. Disord. Drug Targets. 2020;19:257–263. doi: 10.2174/1871527319666200611130804.
    1. Costanza A., Baertschi M., Weber K., Canuto A. Neurological diseases and suicide: From neurobiology to hopelessness. Rev. Med. Suisse. 2015;11:402–405.
    1. Benard V., Geoffroy P., Bellivier F. Saisons, rythmes circadiens, sommeil et vulnérabilité aux conduites suicidaires. L’Encéphale. 2015;41(Suppl. 1):S29–S37. doi: 10.1016/S0013-7006(15)30004-X.
    1. Galvão P.V.M., Silva H., da Silva C.M.F.P. Temporal distribution of suicide mortality: A systematic review. J. Affect. Disord. 2018;228:132–142. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2017.12.008.
    1. Ajdacic-Gross V., Bopp M., Ring M., Gutzwiller F., Rossler W. Seasonality in suicide—A review and search of new concepts for explaining the heterogeneous phenomena. Soc. Sci. Med. 2010;71:657–666. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2010.05.030.
    1. Woo J.-M., Okusaga O., Postolache T.T. Seasonality of Suicidal Behavior. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health. 2012;9:531–547. doi: 10.3390/ijerph9020531.
    1. Liu Q., Wang W., Gu X., Deng F., Wang X., Lin H., Guo X., Wu S. Association between particulate matter air pollution and risk of depression and suicide: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. 2021;28:9029–9049. doi: 10.1007/s11356-021-12357-3.
    1. Davoudi M., Barjasteh-Askari F., Amini H., Lester D., Mahvi A.H., Ghavami V., Ghalhari M.R. Association of suicide with short-term exposure to air pollution at different lag times: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Sci. Total Environ. 2021;771:144882. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.144882.
    1. Kious B.M., Kondo D., Renshaw P.F. Living High and Feeling Low: Altitude, Suicide, and Depression. Harv. Rev. Psychiatry. 2018;26:43–56. doi: 10.1097/HRP.0000000000000158.
    1. Yan Y.Y. Geophysical Variables and Behavior: LXXXXIX. The Influence of Weather on Suicide in Hong Kong. Percept. Mot. Ski. 2000;91:571–577. doi: 10.2466/pms.2000.91.2.571.
    1. Santurtún M., Sanchez-Lorenzo A., del Real A., Zarrabeitia M.T., Santurtún A. Association Between Suicide and Environmental Variables in the North of Spain: A 14-Year Analysis. Cult. Med. Psychiatry. 2018;42:647–653. doi: 10.1007/s11013-018-9578-7.
    1. Schneider A., Hampel R., Ladwig K.-H., Baumert J., Lukaschek K., Peters A., Breitner S. Impact of meteorological parameters on suicide mortality rates: A case-crossover analysis in Southern Germany (1990–2006) Sci. Total Environ. 2020;707:136053. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.136053.
    1. Chau P.H., Yip P.S.F., Lau H.Y.E., Ip Y.T., Law F.Y.W., Ho R.T.H., Leung A.Y.M., Wong J.Y.H., Woo J. Hot Weather and Suicide Deaths among Older Adults in Hong Kong, 1976–2014: A Retrospective Study. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health. 2020;17:3449. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17103449.
    1. Glenn C.R., Nock M.K. Improving the Short-Term Prediction of Suicidal Behavior. Am. J. Prev. Med. 2014;47(Suppl. 2):S176–S180. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2014.06.004.
    1. Ouzzani M., Hammady H., Fedorowicz Z., Elmagarmid A. Rayyan—A web and mobile app for systematic reviews. Syst. Rev. 2016;5:210. doi: 10.1186/s13643-016-0384-4.
    1. Ferguson C.J. An effect size primer: A guide for clinicians and researchers. Prof. Psychol. Res. Pract. 2009;40:532–538. doi: 10.1037/a0015808.
    1. Haug M.G. Measures of Association. [(accessed on 12 May 2021)]; Available online: .
    1. Inoue K., Nishimura Y., Fujita Y., Ono Y., Fukunaga T. The Relationship between Suicide and Five Climate Issues in a Large-scale and Long Term Study in Japan. West Indian Med. J. 2012;61:532–537. doi: 10.7727/wimj.2010.141.
    1. Tsai J.-F., Cho W. Temperature change dominates the suicidal seasonality in Taiwan: A time-series analysis. J. Affect. Disord. 2012;136:412–418. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2011.11.010.
    1. Min J.-Y., Kim H.-J., Min K.-B. Long-term exposure to air pollution and the risk of suicide death: A population-based cohort study. Sci. Total Environ. 2018;628–629:573–579. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.02.011.
    1. Casas L., Cox B., Bauwelinck M., Nemery B., Deboosere P., Nawrot T. Does air pollution trigger suicide? A case-crossover analysis of suicide deaths over the life span. Eur. J. Epidemiol. 2017;32:973–981. doi: 10.1007/s10654-017-0273-8.
    1. Bakian A.V., Huber R.S., Coon H., Gray D., Wilson P., McMahon W.M., Renshaw P.F. Acute air pollution exposure and risk of suicide completion. Am. J. Epidemiol. 2015;181:295–303. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwu341.
    1. Kim C., Jung S.H., Kang D.R., Kim H.C., Moon K.T., Hur N.W., Shin D.C., Suh I. Ambient Particulate Matter as a Risk Factor for Suicide. Am. J. Psychiatry. 2010;167:1100–1107. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2010.09050706.
    1. Kim Y., Ng C.F.S., Chung Y., Kim H., Honda Y., Guo Y.L., Lim Y.H., Chen B.Y., Page L.A., Hashizume M. Air Pollution and Suicide in 10 Cities in Northeast Asia: A Time-Stratified Case-Crossover Analysis. Environ. Health Perspect. 2018;126:037002. doi: 10.1289/EHP2223.
    1. Lee H., Myung W., Kim S.E., Kim D.K., Kim H. Ambient air pollution and completed suicide in 26 South Korean cities: Effect modification by demographic and socioeconomic factors. Sci. Total Environ. 2018;639:944–951. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.05.210.
    1. Lin G.Z., Li L., Song Y.F., Zhou Y.X., Shen S.Q., Ou C.Q. The impact of ambient air pollution on suicide mortality: A case-crossover study in Guangzhou, China. Environ. Health. 2016;15:90. doi: 10.1186/s12940-016-0177-1.
    1. Ng C.F.S., Stickley A., Konishi S., Watanabe C. Ambient air pollution and suicide in Tokyo, 2001–2011. J. Affect. Disord. 2016;201:194–202. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2016.05.006.
    1. Yang C.-Y., Huang Y.-T., Chiu H.-F. Does ambient ozone air pollution trigger suicide attempts? A case cross-over analysis in Taipei. J. Toxicol. Environ. Health Part A. 2019;82:638–644. doi: 10.1080/15287394.2019.1640980.
    1. Yang C.-Y., Weng Y.-H., Chiu Y.-W. Relationship between ozone air pollution and daily suicide mortality: A time-stratified case-crossover study in Taipei. J. Toxicol. Environ. Health Part A. 2019;82:261–267. doi: 10.1080/15287394.2019.1589109.
    1. Min J.-Y., Min K.-B. Night noise exposure and risk of death by suicide in adults living in metropolitan areas. Depress. Anxiety. 2018;35:876–883. doi: 10.1002/da.22789.
    1. Figgs L.W., Holsinger H., Freitas S.J., Brion G.M., Hornung R.W., Rice C.H., Tollerud D. Increased suicide risk among workers following toxic metal exposure at the Paducah gaseous diffusion plant from 1952 to 2003: A cohort study. Int. J. Occup. Environ. Med. 2011;2:199–214.
    1. Asirdizer M., Kartal E., Etli Y., Tatlisumak E., Gumus O., Hekimoglu Y., Keskin S. The effect of altitude and climate on the suicide rates in Turkey. J. Forensic Leg. Med. 2018;54:91–95. doi: 10.1016/j.jflm.2017.12.012.
    1. Betz M.E., Valley M.A., Lowenstein S.R., Hedegaard H., Thomas D., Stallones L., Honigman B. Elevated Suicide Rates at High Altitude: Sociodemographic and Health Issues May Be to Blame. Suicide Life Threat. Behav. 2011;41:562–573. doi: 10.1111/j.1943-278X.2011.00054.x.
    1. Brenner B., Cheng D., Clark S., Camargo C.A., Jr. Positive association between altitude and suicide in 2584 U.S. counties. High Alt. Med. Biol. 2011;12:31–35. doi: 10.1089/ham.2010.1058.
    1. Haws C.A., Gray D.D., Yurgelun-Todd D.A., Moskos M., Meyer L.J., Renshaw P.F. The possible effect of altitude on regional variation in suicide rates. Med. Hypotheses. 2009;73:587–590. doi: 10.1016/j.mehy.2009.05.040.
    1. Ha H., Tu W. An Ecological Study on the Spatially Varying Relationship between County-Level Suicide Rates and Altitude in the United States. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health. 2018;15:671. doi: 10.3390/ijerph15040671.
    1. Kim N., Mickelson J.B., Brenner B.E., Haws C.A., Yurgelun-Todd D.A., Renshaw P.F. Altitude, gun ownership, rural areas, and suicide. Am. J. Psychiatry. 2011;168:49–54. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2010.10020289.
    1. Kim J., Choi N., Lee Y.J., An H., Kim N., Yoon H.K., Lee H.J. High altitude remains associated with elevated suicide rates after adjusting for socioeconomic status: A study from South Korea. Psychiatry Investig. 2014;11:492–494. doi: 10.4306/pi.2014.11.4.492.
    1. Oka M., Kubota T., Tsubaki H., Yamauchi K. Analysis of impact of geographic characteristics on suicide rate and visualization of result with Geographic Information System. Psychiatry Clin. Neurosci. 2014;69:375–382. doi: 10.1111/pcn.12254.
    1. Sabic H., Kious B., Boxer D., Fitzgerald C., Riley C., Scholl L., McGlade E., Yurgelun-Todd D., Renshaw P.F., Kondo D.G. Effect of Altitude on Veteran Suicide Rates. High Alt. Med. Biol. 2019;20:171–177. doi: 10.1089/ham.2018.0130.
    1. Selek S. Altitude, Immigration and Suicide Rates: A Study from Turkey. Psychiatry Investig. 2013;10:89–91. doi: 10.4306/pi.2013.10.1.89.
    1. Kelsey J.L., Whittemore A.S., Evans A.S., Thompson W.D. Methods in Observational Epidemiology. 2nd ed. Oxford University Press; New York, NY, USA: 1996. Cross-Sectional and Other Types of Studies; pp. 244–267.
    1. Riblet N.B., Gottlieb D.J., Watts B.V., Cornelius S.L., Fan V.S., Shi X., Shiner B. Hypoxia-related risk factors for death by suicide in a national clinical sample. Psychiatry Res. 2019;273:247–251. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2019.01.040.
    1. Buckley J.P., Samet J.M., Richardson D.B. Commentary: Does Air Pollution Confound Studies of Temperature? Epidemiology. 2014;25:242–245. doi: 10.1097/EDE.0000000000000051.
    1. Aguglia A., Giacomini G., Montagna E., Amerio A., Escelsior A., Capello M., Cutroneo L., Ferretti G., Scafidi D., Costanza A., et al. Meteorological Variables and Suicidal Behavior: Air Pollution and Apparent Temperature Are Associated with High-Lethality Suicide Attempts and Male Gender. Front. Psychiatry. 2021;12:653390. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.653390.

Source: PubMed

スポンサーと協力者

医学的状態

薬物療法

3
購読する