Observational studyEpidemiology and psychiatric sciences2020
Seasonality of suicide: a multi-country multi-community observational study.
Observational study in Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 45 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
45 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Climate change and suicide epidemiology: a systematic review and meta-analysis of gender variations in global suicide rates.Frontiers in public health · 2024Pooled it
- Temporal Patterns of Engagement and Sentiment in a Suicide Prevention Mobile App: Three-Year Observational Study.JMIR mental health · 2026Observational
- Suicide among older adults in Ireland: a national case series of coronial data, 2015-2020.BMJ mental health · 2026Article
- Association of short-term ambient environmental exposures with suicide and drug overdose deaths among U.S. veterans.American journal of epidemiology · 2026Article
- Seasonality in Mortality and Health: Environmental and Demographic Perspectives.Environment & health (Washington, D.C.) · 2026Review
- Seasonal variations in suicide mortality in Canada: A nationwide analysis.Canadian journal of public health = Revue canadienne de sante publique · 2026Article
- Trajectories of self-reported suicide risk with interpretative and predictive values for subsequent suicide attempts: a retrospective cohort study among crisis hotline callers in China.BMC psychiatry · 2026Article
- Seasonal and cultural effects on calendar day variations in trauma incidence in Japan.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- The effect of seasonal and meteorological factors on suicide rates in the Lithuanian population in 2001-2021: a case‑crossover study.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Self-Harm Presentations to a Pediatric Trauma Centre During the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic.Journal of the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry = Journal de l'Academie canadienne de psychiatrie de l'enfant et de l'adolescent · 2025Article
- Comparing mortality burdens attributable to ambient temperature and seasonal variation across major causes of death in Spain.Environmental epidemiology (Philadelphia, Pa.) · 2025Article
- Associations Between Daily Outdoor Temperature and Subjective Real-time Ratings of Emotional States and Sleep in Mood Disorder Subtypes.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2025Article
- Disparities in Suicide Mortality Between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Populations in Southern Brazil (2010-2019).International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- The influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the profile of suicide cases involving substances in a state Brazil: an analysis of a 6-year period.Forensic science, medicine, and pathology · 2025Article
- Injury patterns of suicide attempts in the head and neck area-a retrospective analysis over 15 years.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2025Article
- Use of gabapentinoid treatment and the risk of self-harm: population based self-controlled case series study.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2025Article
- Mental and Behavioral Disorders, Comorbidity, and Self-Harm: Results From Korea National Hospital Discharge In-Depth Injury Survey.Psychiatry investigation · 2025Article
- Cold-related Mortality in US State and Private Prisons: A Case-Crossover Analysis.Epidemiology (Cambridge, Mass.) · 2025Article
- Epidemiological Analysis of Suicidal Behaviour in Spain from 2017 to 2022 and Comparative Perspectives with Japan: A Retrospective Observational Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Re-evaluating National Suicide Prevention Month: Strategic Timing and Enhanced Impact.Critical public health · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
28 authors.
Funding
Abstract
aimsWe aimed to investigate the heterogeneity of seasonal suicide patterns among multiple geographically, demographically and socioeconomically diverse populations.
methodsWeekly time-series data of suicide counts for 354 communities in 12 countries during 1986-2016 were analysed. Two-stage analysis was performed. In the first stage, a generalised linear model, including cyclic splines, was used to estimate seasonal patterns of suicide for each community. In the second stage, the community-specific seasonal patterns were combined for each country using meta-regression. In addition, the community-specific seasonal patterns were regressed onto community-level socioeconomic, demographic and environmental indicators using meta-regression.
resultsWe observed seasonal patterns in suicide, with the counts peaking in spring and declining to a trough in winter in most of the countries. However, the shape of seasonal patterns varied among countries from bimodal to unimodal seasonality. The amplitude of seasonal patterns (i.e. the peak/trough relative risk) also varied from 1.47 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.33-1.62) to 1.05 (95% CI: 1.01-1.1) among 12 countries. The subgroup difference in the seasonal pattern also varied over countries. In some countries, larger amplitude was shown for females and for the elderly population (≥65 years of age) than for males and for younger people, respectively. The subperiod difference also varied; some countries showed increasing seasonality while others showed a decrease or little change. Finally, the amplitude was larger for communities with colder climates, higher proportions of elderly people and lower unemployment rates (p-values < 0.05).
conclusionsDespite the common features of a spring peak and a winter trough, seasonal suicide patterns were largely heterogeneous in shape, amplitude, subgroup differences and temporal changes among different populations, as influenced by climate, demographic and socioeconomic conditions. Our findings may help elucidate the underlying mechanisms of seasonal suicide patterns and aid in improving the design of population-specific suicide prevention programmes based on these patterns.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.