Solar radiation increases suicide rate after adjusting for other climate factors in South Korea

• Published in: Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica 2017-03, Vol.135 (3), p.219-227
• Main Authors: Jee, Hee‐Jung, Cho, Chul‐Hyun, Lee, Yu Jin, Choi, Nari, An, Hyonggin, Lee, Heon‐Jeong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: climate factor; Confidence Intervals; Female; Humans; Male; Radiation; Republic of Korea - epidemiology; Seasonal variations; seasonality; Seasons; solar radiation; suicide; Suicide - psychology; Suicide - statistics & numerical data; Suicides & suicide attempts; Temperature
• ISSN: 0001-690X; 1600-0447
• DOI: 10.1111/acps.12676

Objective Previous studies have indicated that suicide rates have significant seasonal variations. There is seasonal discordance between temperature and solar radiation due to the monsoon season in South Korea. We investigated the seasonality of suicide and assessed its association with climate variables in South Korea. Method Suicide rates were obtained from the National Statistical Office of South Korea, and climatic data were obtained from the Korea Meteorological Administration for the period of 1992–2010. We conducted analyses using a generalized additive model (GAM). First, we explored the seasonality of suicide and climate variables such as mean temperature, daily temperature range, solar radiation, and relative humidity. Next, we identified confounding climate variables associated with suicide rate. To estimate the adjusted effect of solar radiation on the suicide rate, we investigated the confounding variables using a multivariable GAM. Results Suicide rate showed seasonality with a pattern similar to that of solar radiation. We found that the suicide rate increased 1.008 times when solar radiation increased by 1 MJ/m2 after adjusting for other confounding climate factors (P < 0.001). Conclusion Solar radiation has a significant linear relationship with suicide after adjusting for region, other climate variables, and time trends.