The influence of a major disaster on suicide risk in the population

The authors investigated the relationship between the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and suicide risk in New York City from 1990 to 2006. The average monthly suicide rate over the study period was 0.56 per 100,000 people. The monthly rate after September 2001 was 0.11 per 100,000 people lower...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of traumatic stress 2009-12, Vol.22 (6), p.481-488
Main Authors: Mezuk, Briana, Larkin, Gregory Luke, Prescott, Marta R., Tracy, Melissa, Vlahov, David, Tardiff, Kenneth, Galea, Sandro
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Biological and medical sciences
Cross-Sectional Studies
Disasters
Female
Humans
Incidence
Linear Models
Male
Medical sciences
New York City
Nonlinear Dynamics
Population Surveillance
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Quality-Adjusted Life Years
Risk Assessment - statistics & numerical data
September 11 Terrorist Attacks - statistics & numerical data
Suicide
Suicide - psychology
Suicide - statistics & numerical data
Suicide - trends
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Summary:The authors investigated the relationship between the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and suicide risk in New York City from 1990 to 2006. The average monthly suicide rate over the study period was 0.56 per 100,000 people. The monthly rate after September 2001 was 0.11 per 100,000 people lower as compared to the rate in the period before. However, the rate of change in suicide was not significantly different before and after the disaster, and regression discontinuity analysis indicated no change at this date. There was no net change in the suicide rate in New York City attributable to this disaster, suggesting that factors other than exposure to traumatic events (e.g., cultural norms, availability of lethal methods) may be key drivers of suicide risk in this context.
ISSN:0894-9867
1573-6598
DOI:10.1002/jts.20473