Panser L A, McAlpine D E, Wallrichs S L, Swanson D W, O'Fallon W M, Melton L J
Section of Health Services Evaluation, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA.
Acta Psychiatr Scand. 1995 Sep;92(3):214-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0447.1995.tb09571.x.
Previous studies of suicide timing may have been biased by incomplete ascertainment of suicides and by delays between the suicidal act and subsequent death. Those potential biases were assessed and minimized in this population-based study by using the unique resources of the Rochester Epidemiology Project in Olmsted County, Minnesota. Using these more accurate data, we confirmed previous reports of no excess suicides on birthdays (+/- 3 days), or during 3 United States national holidays. While most prior reports found excess post-holiday suicides and suicide peaks on Mondays, those findings were not observed in Olmsted County. Because 93% of deaths occurred on the date of the suicidal act, using date of death instead of the actual date of suicide is sufficient for most research purposes.
以往关于自杀时间的研究可能因自杀情况确定不完全以及自杀行为与随后死亡之间的延迟而存在偏差。在这项基于人群的研究中，通过利用明尼苏达州奥尔姆斯特德县罗切斯特流行病学项目的独特资源，对这些潜在偏差进行了评估并将其影响降至最低。利用这些更准确的数据，我们证实了之前的报告，即生日（±3天）或美国三个国定假日期间没有自杀人数过多的情况。虽然大多数先前的报告发现节后自杀人数过多以及周一出现自杀高峰，但在奥尔姆斯特德县并未观察到这些结果。由于93%的死亡发生在自杀行为当天，因此就大多数研究目的而言，使用死亡日期而非实际自杀日期就足够了。
