Original contributionClimatic and diurnal variation in suicide attempts in the ED
Section snippets
Methods
The data were obtained retrospectively from the folders of patients who were admitted to Ondokuz Mayis University Hospital ED between January 1996 and December 2001. For each case admitted to the ED a special file, which would be archived in the hospital, was prepared. The file included admission time, date, gender, age, vital signs, medications administered on admission to the ED, type and time of suicidal attempt, and the name and dose of the drug if the method of suicide attempt was drugs.
Results
A total of 317(28.3%) male and 802 (71.7%) female hospital admissions for suicide attempts were identified at the ED of the Ondokuz Mayis University Hospital between January 1996 and December 2001, with an age range of 10 to 89 years. The mean ages were 28.1 ± 13.8 (mean ± standard deviation) years and 23.5 ± 9.3 years in males and females, respectively. The suicide attempts were most common in the 15–24 age group in both males and females (61.3% in males and 58.2% in females). Whereas females
Discussion
In this study, females attempting suicide outnumbered males by 2.5 to 1. Breuer et al1 and Chiu12 reported similar results.
Suicide attempts were most common in the 15–24 age group both in males and females (61.3% in males and 58.2% in females). Data from cross-sectional studies consistently demonstrate that point and period prevalence rates of attempted suicide are higher in younger than older age groups.32, 33, 34, 35 Breuer et al1 and Chiu12 reported that suicide attempts showed a peak
Conclusion
Although we found a seasonal and diurnal variation in suicide attempts in age groups, methods, and psychiatric diagnosis and a positive/negative correlation between suicide attempts and some meteorologic parameters, the analysis we used is based on a statistical comparison between observed and expected frequencies of suicide attempts. Therefore, causal relationships naturally cannot be verified by this method. We must keep in mind that suicides and suicide attempts are not only the effect of
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