Bocchetta Alberto, Traccis Francesco
Department of Biomedical Sciences, Section of Neurosciences and Clinical Pharmacology, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
Clin Pract Epidemiol Ment Health. 2017 Nov 30;13:246-254. doi: 10.2174/1745017901713010246. eCollection 2017.
Sardinia, the second largest Mediterranean island has long been considered a privileged observatory for the study of several medical conditions. The peculiar epidemiology of mood disorders and suicide across Sardinian sub-regions has long intrigued clinicians and researchers.
The principal aim of the present study was to test whether the geographical distribution of suicides committed in Sardinian over the last three decades are comparable with the geographical origin of patients hospitalized up to half a century ago.
The distribution of the municipalities of origin of the patients hospitalized in Sardinia between 1901 and 1964 for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression was reanalyzed and compared with the distribution of municipalities where suicides were committed between 1980 and 2013. Data were also analyzed by the altitude above the sea level and by the population size of the municipalities.
There was a significant variation of hospitalization and suicide rates across Sardinian sub-regions. The sub-regions of origin of the patients hospitalized for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder correlated with each other ( = 0.047). Both hospitalizations and suicides were more incident in municipalities with a higher altitude and a smaller population size. The incidence of hospitalizations and suicides correlated significantly with each other both at the municipality ( = 1.86 x 10) and at the sub-region level ( = 1.71 x 10).
The present study confirms the peculiar geographical distribution of major psychoses and suicide in Sardinia. The two phenomena appear to have been correlated for as long as one century.
撒丁岛是地中海第二大岛屿，长期以来一直被视为研究多种医学病症的理想观察站。撒丁岛各次区域情绪障碍和自杀的特殊流行病学长期以来一直吸引着临床医生和研究人员。
本研究的主要目的是检验过去三十年撒丁岛自杀事件的地理分布是否与半个多世纪前住院患者的地理来源具有可比性。
重新分析1901年至1964年期间在撒丁岛因精神分裂症、双相情感障碍和抑郁症住院患者的籍贯市镇分布情况，并与1980年至2013年期间自杀事件发生市镇的分布情况进行比较。还按海拔高度和市镇人口规模对数据进行了分析。
撒丁岛各次区域的住院率和自杀率存在显著差异。因精神分裂症和双相情感障碍住院患者的籍贯次区域相互关联（=0.047）。海拔较高和人口规模较小的市镇住院率和自杀率更高。市镇层面（=1.86×10）和次区域层面（=1.71×10）的住院率和自杀率均显著相关。
本研究证实了撒丁岛主要精神病和自杀的特殊地理分布。这两种现象似乎在长达一个世纪的时间里都存在关联。
