Association between dust storm occurrence and risk of suicide: Case-crossover analysis of the Korean national death database

Asian dust storms (ADSs) have been associated with adverse health outcomes, including respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Considering the increasing global desertification driven by climate change, it is necessary to assess dust storm-related adverse health effects for establishing appropriate...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environment international 2019-12, Vol.133 (Pt A), p.105146, Article 105146
Main Authors: Lee, Hyewon, Jung, Jiyun, Myung, Woojae, Baek, Ji Hyun, Kang, Jae Myeong, Kim, Doh Kwan, Kim, Ho
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Air Pollutants - chemistry
Air Pollution - analysis
Asian dust storms
Data Management
Databases, Factual
Duration
Dust - analysis
Dust storms
Humans
Intensity
Mental health
Particulate Matter - analysis
Public Health
Republic of Korea
Retrospective Studies
Suicide
Suicide - statistics & numerical data
Time Factors
Weather
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Summary:Asian dust storms (ADSs) have been associated with adverse health outcomes, including respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Considering the increasing global desertification driven by climate change, it is necessary to assess dust storm-related adverse health effects for establishing appropriate public health interventions. Recent studies have found that ambient air pollution has negative effects on mental health including cognitive disorders, depression, and suicide. However, these studies mostly focused on traditional anthropogenic pollutants from traffic exhaust or fossil fuel power plants; the association between dust storms and suicidal death is yet to be determined. To assess the association between ADSs and suicide risk in Seoul, South Korea from 2002 to 2015. To determine whether increased risk of suicide is associated with occurrence of ADSs, we performed a time-stratified case-crossover study that linked the national death statistics database with ADS occurrence data from the Korea Meteorology Administration. Exposure to ADSs was compared between the day of suicide and control days, matched to the day of the week, month, and year. We further examined whether the effect of ADSs on suicide risk differed according to ADS duration and intensity. Over the 14-year period, 30,704 people died by suicide and 133 ADSs were reported. Of these, 55 ADSs lasted over 2 days (long-duration ADSs), and 67 ADSs had higher levels of particulate matter 
ISSN:0160-4120
1873-6750
DOI:10.1016/j.envint.2019.105146