He suicide is a serious social problem and public health, which is estimated to cause 720,000 deaths worldwide. In Spain They died last year at least 3,952 people following a suicide.
A analysis of data from 26 countries published in ‘The BMJ’ by Yoonhee Kim, associate professor at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Japan, said the risk of suicide is higher on Monday and increases on New Year’s Day, while The risk of suicide on weekends and Christmas varies between countries and regions.
The researchers say their findings could help better understand short-term variations in rsuicide risks and define suicide prevention action plans and awareness campaigns.
Previous studies have shown that suicide risk differs depending on the day of the week, but results on association between major festivals and suicide risk are inconsistent and limited in geographic scope. To address this issue, researchers used the Multi-City Multi-Country Collaborative Research Network database to analyze suicide data from 740 sites in 26 countries and territories between 1971 and 2019. Just over 1.7 million suicides were included.
The study analyzed data from 26 countries
During the study period, The highest suicide rate was recorded in South Korea, Japan, South Africa and Estonia, and the lowest in the Philippines, Brazil, Mexico and Paraguay. Across all countries, higher suicide rates were observed among men (compared to women) and people aged 0 to 64 (compared to those aged 65 and over). In all countries, the risk of suicide was higher on Mondays (around 15-18% of total suicides) compared to other days of the week.
He the weekend’s effect on suicide was mixed. Suicide risks were lowest on Saturday or Sunday in many countries in North America, Asia and Europe. However, the risk increased during weekends in South and Central American countries, Finland and South Africa.
He Suicide risk increased on New Year’s Day in all countries, particularly among men, while the trend on Christmas Day varied, with marginal increases in Central and South American countries and South Africa, but generally reduced risk in countries d North America and Europe. In three East Asian countries and regions where the Lunar New Year is celebrated (China, South Korea, and Taiwan), only South Korea showed a reduced suicide risk.
Possible explanations include distress due to work pressure at the start of the week and higher rates of alcohol consumption before and during New Year’s Day and on weekends. According to the authors, it is necessary to continue studying these factors.
Other national holidaysSuicide risk was associated with a small decrease in many countries, except in Central and South American countries, where the risk generally increased one or two days after these holidays.
These are observational findings and the researchers acknowledge several limitations of the study, such as possible underestimation or misclassification of suicide data in some countries and the inability to assess the impacts of different types of holidays (for example, festivals or memorial days). the risk of suicide by country. However, the authors claim that the results “provide new scientific evidence on a global scale, this can help establish more specific suicide prevention and response programs related to holidays and day of the week.
Why is it important to study which days of the week or holiday periods pose the greatest risk of suicide?
Laura A. Rico-Uribe, researcher at the Faculty of Health Sciences at the International University of La Rioja (UNIR), says: “It is of great importance to study risk factors to carry out adequate prevention with greater attention to the most vulnerable population. With this in mind, resource management could also benefit from the results, since times when greater resources are needed can be identified and able to provide them to the population. Another relevant aspect of studying the day of the week with the highest risk of suicide is the possibility of rethinking our lifestyle in relation to the routines we have, both educationally and professionally. Returning to the theme of prevention and online discovery of a increased risk of suicide during holidays like New Yearcan be of great help in developing prevention programs and campaigns on these dates, as well as in providing a greater number of care tools and resources during these festivities to people at risk of suicidal behavior.
Josep María Suelves, head of the Smoking and Injury Prevention and Control Service of the Public Health Agency of Catalonia and member of the board of directors of the National Committee for Smoking Prevention, says: “Beyond providing some curious data concerning a serious problem like suicide, the results of this study are interesting because they highlight the role of its social determinants. The authors outline some of the factors that could explain the reasons for a problem. Increase in the number of suicides on Monday and New Year’s Day, like the “broken promise effect” that many people experience when they are again exposed to the stressful conditions of professional life at the end of the weekend or after having failed to keep the good resolutions with which they often say goodbye to the year. Additionally, greater alcohol consumption and other variables strongly associated with suicide, such as lack of social support and gender differences, could help explain the phenomenon. temporal variations in mortality that this study seems to confirm.”
