Seasonal variation in suicides: diminished or vanished

Abstract

BackgroundSeasonal variation in suicidal death has been observed in many countries. In particular, a cyclic variation was found for both men and women in England and Wales in the 1960s and 1970s. Men showed a single 12-month cycle whereas women showed two cycles.AimsTo re-examine the seasonal variation in suicides in England and Wales for the period 1982–1996.MethodA harmonic analysis was used to detect the seasonality of the suicide data.ResultsThe seasonal effect on suicide is greatly diminished in England and Wales. This is shown by the reduced amplitude and smaller proportion of variance accounted for by the season.ConclusionsThe seasonal effect on suicide has either diminished or vanished.