Past Issues

Objectives: Recently, studies have shown a positive relationship between air pollutants and suicide. But, the previous studies did not take other significant fac-tors into consideration. The present study was intended to explore the relationship between the air pollutant concentrations and suicide rate by cross-sectional time series analysis considering other significant factors simultaneously. Methods: I gathered the annual suicide rates, socioeconomic parameters, meteorological data, and concentrations of five air pollutants -- sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), ozone (O₃), carbon monoxide (CO), particulate matter (PM₁₀) -- in Taiwan during 1994-2009. Then, I did a pooled cross-sectional time series analysis. Results: Random effect model was identified as the final model, indicating the spouseless population having the most significant risk factor for suicide (z = 4.27, p < 0.001). PM10 was also found to play a significant rôle in suicide (z = 2.56, p < 0.05); while SO₂, NO₂, O₃, and CO were found to be nonsignificant. Conclusion: The results identify PM₁₀ as a possible risk factor for suicide. The present findings complement previous studies by providing the viewpoint from a longer aspect as well as a broader cross-sectional distribution, with the consideration of some more potential confounders.