Suicide seasonality and antidepressants: a register-based study in Sweden.
Summary of "Suicide seasonality and antidepressants: a register-based study in Sweden."
Makris GD, Reutfors J, Ösby U, Isacsson G, Frangakis C, Ekbom A, Papadopoulos FC. Suicide seasonality and antidepressants: a register-based study in Sweden. Objective:  Seasonality of completed suicides with a peak in spring and early summer is a well-documented finding. The circannual serotonergic functioning is hypothesized to be central in this phenomenon. Antidepressant medications exert their pharmacological action mainly by regulating serotonin. Our aim is to study the amplitude of the seasonal effect among suicide victims positive for different classes of antidepressants or without any antidepressants at the time of death. Method:  By using Swedish Registers, 12 448 suicides with forensic data for antidepressive medication and information on in-patient-treated mental disorder were identified during 1992-2003. Seasonality was estimated with a Poisson regression variant of the circular normal distribution of completed suicides. Results:  Higher suicide seasonality was found for individuals treated with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRIs) compared to those with other antidepressant treatment or without any antidepressant treatment. The finding is more evident for men and violent suicide methods and those without history of in-patient treatment. Conclusion:  Our results provide preliminary support for the serotonergic hypothesis of suicide seasonality and raise the question of a possible accentuation of the natural suicide seasonality in patients treated with SSRIs, a hypothesis that warrants further investigation.
Affiliation
Department of Neuroscience, Psychiatry, Uppsala University Hospital, Uppsala University, Uppsala Clinical Epidemiology Unit, Department of Medicine, Karolinska University Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm Department of Molecular Medicine and Surg
Journal Details
This article was published in the following journal.
Name: Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica
ISSN: 1600-0447
Pages:
Links
- PubMed Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22676408
- DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0447.2012.01891.x
Medical and Biotech [MESH] Definitions
Suicide
The act of killing oneself.
Publication Bias
The influence of study results on the chances of publication and the tendency of investigators, reviewers, and editors to submit or accept manuscripts for publication based on the direction or strength of the study findings. Publication bias has an impact on the interpretation of clinical trials and meta-analyses. Bias can be minimized by insistence by editors on high-quality research, thorough literature reviews, acknowledgement of conflicts of interest, modification of peer review practices, etc.
Suicide, Attempted
The unsuccessful attempt to kill oneself.
Empirical Research
The study, based on direct observation, use of statistical records, interviews, or experimental methods, of actual practices or the actual impact of practices or policies.
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