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Correlating heatwaves and relative humidity with suicide (fatal intentional self-harm)

Florido Ngu, F; Kelman, I; Chambers, J; Ayeb-Karlsson, S; (2021) Correlating heatwaves and relative humidity with suicide (fatal intentional self-harm). Scientific Reports volume , 11 , Article 22175. 10.1038/s41598-021-01448-3. Green open access

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Abstract

Empirical evidence suggests that the effects of anthropogenic climate change, and heat in particular, could have a significant impact on mental health. This article investigates the correlation between heatwaves and/or relative humidity and suicide (fatal intentional self-harm) on a global scale. The covariance between heat/humidity and suicide was modelled using a negative binomial Poisson regression with data from 60 countries between 1979-2016. Statistically significant increases and decreases in suicide were found, as well as many cases with no significant correlation. We found that relative humidity showed a more significant correlation with suicide compared to heatwaves and that both younger age groups and women seemed to be more significantly affected by changes in humidity and heatwave counts in comparison with the rest of the population. Further research is needed to provide a larger and more consistent basis for epidemiological studies; to understand better the connections among heat, humidity and mental health; and to explore in more detail which population groups are particularly impacted and why.

Type: Article
Title: Correlating heatwaves and relative humidity with suicide (fatal intentional self-harm)
Location: England
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-01448-3
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-01448-3
Language: English
Additional information: © 2021 Springer Nature Limited. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Inst for Risk and Disaster Reduction
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10139336
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