ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2012
Suicide and drought in New South Wales, Australia, 1970-2007.
Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 71 papers, 10 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
71 citing papers in PubMed, 10 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 248 citations in OpenAlex.
- A systematic review and meta-analysis on the relationship of eco-emotions on the mental health and wellbeing of young adults.Applied psychology. Health and well-being · 2026Pooled it
- Built environment features: Predictors or effect modifiers of post-disaster mental health outcomes? A systematic review.Social science & medicine (1982) · 2026Pooled it
- A systematic review on the impact of climate change on occupational mental health: a focus on vulnerable industries.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2025Pooled it
- Impacts of Climate Change on Health and Health Services in Northern New South Wales, Australia: A Rapid Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Pooled it
- A Systematic Literature Review of the Impact of Climate Change on the Global Demand for Psychiatric Services.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Pooled it
- Systematic review of quantitative studies assessing the relationship between environment and mental health in rural areas.The Australian journal of rural health · 2022Pooled it
- Factors Associated with Suicidal Behavior in Farmers: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Pooled it
- The Impact of Climate Change on Mental Health: A Systematic Descriptive Review.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2020Pooled it
- Impact of climate change on occupational health and productivity: a systematic literature review focusing on workplace heat.La Medicina del lavoro · 2018Pooled it
- The Mental Health Outcomes of Drought: A Systematic Review and Causal Process Diagram.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2015Pooled it
- The Lethal Connection: Investigating the Relationship of Drought Conditions on Firearm and Nonfirearm Suicides Among U.S. Adults.GeoHealth · 2026Article
- [Association between temperature, duration of sunshine and suicidal mortality in Germany (2015-2023)].Der Nervenarzt · 2026Article
- Drought and cognitive function in older adults: results from the Mexican health and aging study.Environment international · 2026Article
- The association between hot days and substance-related suicides: a time-stratified case-crossover analysis in British Columbia, Canada.Environmental health : a global access science source · 2025Article
- The relationship between prenatal drought exposure and the diversity and composition of gut microbiome in pregnant women and neonates.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- A review of the relationship between mental health, wellbeing and drought resilience in rural, regional and remote communities.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Review
- Extreme drought and sexual violence against adolescent girls and young women: A multi-country population-based study.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- Suicide deaths associated with climate change-induced heat anomalies in Australia: a time series regression analysis.BMJ mental health · 2024Article
- Existing Challenges and Opportunities for Advancing Drought and Health Research.Current environmental health reports · 2024Review
- Analyzing the effects of drought at different time scales on cause-specific mortality in South Africa.Environmental research letters : ERL [Web site] · 2024Article
11 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
There is concern in Australia that droughts substantially increase the incidence of suicide in rural populations, particularly among male farmers and their families. We investigated this possibility for the state of New South Wales (NSW), Australia between 1970 and 2007, analyzing data on suicides with a previously established climatic drought index. Using a generalized additive model that controlled for season, region, and long-term suicide trends, we found an increased relative risk of suicide of 15% (95% confidence interval, 8%-22%) for rural males aged 30-49 y when the drought index rose from the first quartile to the third quartile. In contrast, the risk of suicide for rural females aged >30 y declined with increased values of the drought index. We also observed an increased risk of suicide in spring and early summer. In addition there was a smaller association during unusually warm months at any time of year. The spring suicide increase is well documented in nontropical locations, although its cause is unknown. The possible increased risk of suicide during drought in rural Australia warrants public health focus and concern, as does the annual, predictable increase seen each spring and early summer. Suicide is a complex phenomenon with many interacting social, environmental, and biological causal factors. The relationship between drought and suicide is best understood using a holistic framework. Climate change projections suggest increased frequency and severity of droughts in NSW, accompanied and exacerbated by rising temperatures. Elucidating the relationships between drought and mental health will help facilitate adaptation to climate change.
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