Gergö Hadlaczky1, Sebastian Hökby2. 1. a Department of Learning, Informatics, Management and Ethics, Karolinska Institutet , National Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention of Mental Ill-Health, Stockholm , Sweden. 2. b Department of Psychology , Stockholm University, Stockholm , Sweden.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Previous studies have investigated the impact of the Christmas and New Year holiday on suicide rates. However, no such data has yet been published on Swedish suicides. AIMS: To examine the occurrence of suicides on these dates in Sweden between 2006 and 2015. METHODS: The suicide count for each date between December 15th and January 15th was obtained from the Swedish cause of death registry. The observations were transformed to Z-scores to enable calculation of p-values. RESULTS: A small but non-significant decrease in suicides was observed on Christmas and New Year's Eve. A significant spike was found on New Year's Day (NYD) (Z = 3.40; p < .001), and these excess suicide occurred mainly among men aged 15-24 and 45-64. However, the number of suicides were somewhat lower than expected on the 31st of December (Z = -1.58; p = .115). DISCUSSION: The noted increase in suicide on NYD is in line with previous research from other countries. However, the decrease in suicides on the day before NYD suggests a delay rather than a spontaneous increase of suicides. Possible mechanisms to explain this phenomenon are discussed, such as the "broken promise effect", increased alcohol consumption, or lower help-seeking and accessibility to care.
BACKGROUND: Previous studies have investigated the impact of the Christmas and New Year holiday on suicide rates. However, no such data has yet been published on Swedish suicides. AIMS: To examine the occurrence of suicides on these dates in Sweden between 2006 and 2015. METHODS: The suicide count for each date between December 15th and January 15th was obtained from the Swedish cause of death registry. The observations were transformed to Z-scores to enable calculation of p-values. RESULTS: A small but non-significant decrease in suicides was observed on Christmas and New Year's Eve. A significant spike was found on New Year's Day (NYD) (Z = 3.40; p < .001), and these excess suicide occurred mainly among men aged 15-24 and 45-64. However, the number of suicides were somewhat lower than expected on the 31st of December (Z = -1.58; p = .115). DISCUSSION: The noted increase in suicide on NYD is in line with previous research from other countries. However, the decrease in suicides on the day before NYD suggests a delay rather than a spontaneous increase of suicides. Possible mechanisms to explain this phenomenon are discussed, such as the "broken promise effect", increased alcohol consumption, or lower help-seeking and accessibility to care.
Authors: Julián Alfredo Fernández-Niño; Víctor Alfonso Flórez-García; Claudia Iveth Astudillo-García; Laura Andrea Rodríguez-Villamizar Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2018-06-22 Impact factor: 3.390