Sunshine can reduce the risk of suicides in men, according to a new study.
Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death for people in the United States. According to the 2013 statistics released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the rate of suicide has gone up in the past decade. From 1999 to 2010, the suicide rate among Americans aged between 35 and 64 increased by nearly 30 percent; 17.6 deaths per 100,000 people, up from 13.7.
The report revealed that more number of men commit suicide. The suicide rate for middle-aged men was 27.3 deaths per 100,000, while for women it was 8.1 deaths per 100,000.
The latest research says that daily exposure of sunshine for two weeks to two months reduces the rate of suicides. Researchers explain that this might be due to the interaction of sunlight with the serotonin systems in the brain that regulate mood and impulsiveness.
For the study, researchers examined 69,462 officially confirmed suicides in Austria between January 1970 and May 2010. They found a positive correlation between the number of suicides and hours of daily sunshine on the day of the suicide and up to 10 days before that seemed to ease suicide.
But, the findings also showed negative impact of daily sunshine 14 to 60 days prior.
According to the researchers, the positive correlation between daily sunshine hours and suicide rates was seen mostly among women, while negative correlations between the short-term and long-term exposure to sunshine were mainly found among men.
"Owing to the correlative nature of the data, it is impossible to directly attribute the increase in suicide to sunshine during the 10 days prior to the suicide event. ... Further research is warranted to determine which patients with severe episodes of depression are more susceptible to the suicide-triggering effects of sunshine," researchers wrote in the study.
The findings were published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.
