Citation

Petridou E, Papadopoulos FC, Frangakis CE, Skalkidou A, Trichopoulos D. Epidemiology 2002; 13(1): 106-109.

Affiliation

Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Athens University Medical School, Greece.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2002, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

11805594

Abstract

Several reports indicate that suicide follows a seasonal pattern with a dominant peak during the month of maximum daylight. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the hypothesis that sunshine exposure may trigger suicidal behavior. We found a remarkably consistent pattern of seasonality with peak incidence around June in the northern hemisphere and December in the southern hemisphere. Moreover, there was a positive association between the seasonal amplitude of suicide (measured by relative risk) and total sunshine in the corresponding country. These findings indicate that sunshine may have a triggering effect on suicide, and suggests further research in the field of sunshine-regulated hormones, particularly melatonin.

Language: en