Suicides, attempts vary per season

Though with an overall downward trend over the last 10 years, the rates of suicides and suicide attempts vary substantially across different seasons, reports a recent France study.

Drawing from different national databases, the researchers looked at the time trends of suicides and attempts in France from 2009 to 2018 on daily, weekly, and monthly bases. Models were constructed to assess the impact of seasonal variations on the prevalence of suicide and suicide attempts, as well as their potential correlations with psychiatric disorders and other background factors.

Overall, there was a marked decrease in the prevalence of deaths by suicide and suicide attempts in the last 10 years. Before 2012, there were more than 100,000 and over 10,000 associated deaths recorded. Beyond 2012, trends for both outcomes showed a continuous decline. There were around 90,000 attempts in 2018 and fewer than 9,000 suicide deaths in 2015.

In terms of percentages, suicides had dropped by 14.49 percent, and attempts by 11.69 percent, during the 10-year study period.

Of note, researchers also documented strong seasonal variations in both outcomes. For instance, attempts dropped during winter (from December to February), followed by a slight increase in early spring (April to May) until peaking in May to June. August saw the lowest prevalence of suicide attempts.

“A seasonality in suicidal behaviours exist with a peak in spring, which requires further studies to better understand underpinning physiological mechanisms and the different meteorological factors that may influence these variations,” the researchers said.