Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-724, Republic of Korea.
Psychiatry Res. 2011 Apr 30;186(2-3):390-6. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2010.08.006. Epub 2010 Sep 15.
Little attention has been paid to whether temperature is associated with suicide and to whether suicide seasonality appears in Asian countries as shown in Western countries, even though suicide rates in Korea have increased steadily. The goal of the present study was to examine the association between daily temperature and daily suicide rate in Korea, taking gender, age, and education level into account. Data were analyzed using a generalized additive model, adjusting for confounding factors such as sunshine, relative humidity, holidays, and long-term trends. Suicide rates were higher in spring and summer than other seasons. We observed a 1.4% increase (95% confidence interval=1.0-1.7%) in suicide with each 1°C-increase in daily mean temperature. The suicide risks related to the temperature for males, elderly people, and those with less education were higher than for females, younger people, and those with more education, respectively. These findings have confirmed that temperature is associated with suicide in Korea and further our understanding of more susceptible groups, the effects of gender, age, and education level. Therefore, temperature, one of the meteorological factors, is an important risk factor on suicide.
人们很少关注温度是否与自杀有关，也很少关注自杀季节性是否像在西方国家那样出现在亚洲国家，尽管韩国的自杀率一直在稳步上升。本研究的目的是检验韩国日平均温度与日自杀率之间的关系，同时考虑到性别、年龄和教育水平等因素。研究数据采用广义加性模型进行分析，调整了阳光、相对湿度、节假日和长期趋势等混杂因素。自杀率在春季和夏季高于其他季节。我们发现，每日平均温度每升高 1°C，自杀率就会升高 1.4%（95%置信区间=1.0-1.7%）。男性、老年人和受教育程度较低的人因温度导致的自杀风险高于女性、年轻人和受教育程度较高的人。这些发现证实了温度与韩国的自杀有关，并进一步了解了更易受影响的群体、性别、年龄和教育水平的影响。因此，温度作为气象因素之一，是自杀的一个重要危险因素。
