Pollution May Increase Suicide Risk

New findings published in The American Journal of Epidemiology show that middle-aged men are at the highest risk of suicide after exposure to short-term air pollution.

For the study, researchers found an increased risk of suicide that was associated with short-term exposure to nitrogen dioxide and fine particulate matter among Salt Lake City residents who had committed suicide between 2000 and 2010. Furthermore, they noted that men in Salt Lake City between the ages of 36 and 64 years old experienced the highest risk of suicide following this exposure to poor air quality, and examined records on over 1,500 people who died by suicide in Salt Lake County between Jan. 1, 2000 and Dec. 31, 2010.

Findings revealed that suicide risk was 20 percent higher individuals exposed to increased levels of nitrogen dioxide two to three days before their deaths. 

"We are not exactly sure why risk of suicide was higher in these two groups but suspect that it might be because these two groups were either exposed to higher levels of air pollution or that other additional factors make these two groups more susceptible to the effects of air pollution," said lead study author Amanda Bakian, Ph.D., an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Utah, in a news release. 

Furthermore, the findings also showed that men had a 25 percent increased risk of suicide with exposure to nitrogen dixoxide and a 6 percent increased risk following a short exposure to particulate matter.

While the study doesn't show a direct relation to air pollution and an increased risk of suicide, pollution may interact with other factors that increase suicide risk.

"As suicide risk was found to differ by age and gender, this suggests that vulnerability to suicide following air pollution exposure is not uniform across Salt Lake County residents and that some Salt Lake County residents are more vulnerable than others," concluded Bakian. "Our next step is to determine in more detail exactly what elements--such as genetic and sociodemographic factors --are responsible for increasing one's vulnerability to suicide following air pollution exposure."

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