Relationship of suicide rates with climate and economic variables in Europe during 2000-2012.

BACKGROUND: It is well known that suicidal rates vary considerably among European countries and the reasons for this are unknown, although several theories have been proposed. The effect of economic variables has been extensively studied but not that of climate. METHODS: Data from 29 European countries covering the years 2000-2012 and concerning male and female standardized suicidal rates (according to WHO), economic variables (according World Bank) and climate variables were gathered. The statistical analysis included cluster and principal component analysis and categorical regression. RESULTS: The derived models explained 62.4 % of the variability of male suicidal rates. Economic variables alone explained 26.9 % and climate variables 37.6 %. For females, the respective figures were 41.7, 11.5 and 28.1 %. Male suicides correlated with high unemployment rate in the frame of high growth rate and high inflation and low GDP per capita, while female suicides correlated negatively with inflation. Both male and female suicides correlated with low temperature. DISCUSSION: The current study reports that the climatic effect (cold climate) is stronger than the economic one, but both are present. It seems that in Europe suicidality follows the climate/temperature cline which interestingly is not from south to north but from south to north-east. This raises concerns that climate change could lead to an increase in suicide rates. The current study is essentially the first successful attempt to explain the differences across countries in Europe; however, it is an observational analysis based on aggregate data and thus there is a lack of control for confounders.

Relationship of suicide rates to economic variables in Europe: 2000-2011.

BACKGROUND: It is unclear whether there is a direct link between economic crises and changes in suicide rates. AIMS: The Lopez-Ibor Foundation launched an initiative to study the possible impact of the economic crisis on European suicide rates. METHOD: Data was gathered and analysed from 29 European countries and included the number of deaths by suicide in men and women, the unemployment rate, the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, the annual economic growth rate and inflation. RESULTS: There was a strong correlation between suicide rates and all economic indices except GPD per capita in men but only a correlation with unemployment in women. However, the increase in suicide rates occurred several months before the economic crisis emerged. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, this study confirms a general relationship between the economic environment and suicide rates; however, it does not support there being a clear causal relationship between the current economic crisis and an increase in the suicide rate.

The Premenstrual Symptoms Screening Tool revised for adolescents (PSST-A): prevalence of severe PMS and premenstrual dysphoric disorder in adolescents.

The Premenstrual Symptoms Screening Tool was modified for use in adolescents and piloted in 578 girls at three international sites. Nearly one third (29.6%) reported experiencing severe PMS or PMDD, with irritability being the most commonly reported symptom. Rates of menstrual-related pain were high, particularly in those with severe PMS or PMDD. Severe PMS and PMDD present with similar rates and symptoms in adolescents as in adults, and the Premenstrual Symptoms Screening Tool modified for adolescents is a fast, reliable tool to screen for these syndromes in adolescents.

Tear fluid biomarkers in major depressive disorder: Potential of spectral methods in biomarker discovery.

Spectroscopic methods represent a group of analytical methods that demonstrate high potential in providing clinically relevant diagnostic information, such as biochemical, functional or structural changes of macromolecular complexes that might occur due to pathological processes or therapeutic intervention. Although application of these methods in the field of psychiatric research is still relatively recent, the preliminary results show that they have the capacity to detect subtle neurobiological abnormalities in major depressive disorder (MDD). Methods of mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS), zymography, synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy (SFS), circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were used to analyze the human tear fluid of subjects with MDD. Using MALDI-TOF MS, two diagnostically significant peaks (3747 and 16 411 m/z) were identified with an AUC value of 0.89 and 0.92 in tear fluid of subjects with MDD vs controls, respectively. We also identified various forms of matrix metalloproteinase 9 in subjects with MDD using zymography and synchronous fluorescence spectra (SFS) showed a significant increase in fluorescence intensity at 280 nm. CD spectra were redshifted in tear fluid of subjects with MDD vs healthy controls. FTIR spectroscopy showed changes in the positions of peaks for amide A, I, II in tear fluid of subjects with MDD vs controls. Moreover, atomic force microscopy (AFM) showed different pattern in the crystal structures of tear fluid components in subjects with MDD. SFS, CD, FTIR spectroscopy, AFM and MALDI-TOF MS confirmed, that the human tear fluid proteome could be helpful in discriminating between the group of subjects with MDD and healthy controls. These preliminary findings suggest that spectral methods could represent a useful tool in clinical psychiatry, especially in establishing differential diagnosis, monitoring illness progression and the effect of psychiatric treatment.

A randomized, double-blind study comparing the efficacy and safety of trazodone once-a-day and venlafaxine extended-release for the treatment of patients with major depressive disorder.

This double-blind, randomized study evaluated the efficacy and safety of trazodone OAD (once-a-day) in comparison with venlafaxine XR (extended-release) in 324 patients (166 trazodone and 158 venlafaxine) with major depressive disorder (MDD). The primary efficacy endpoint was the mean change from baseline in the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) at week 8. Both treatments were effective in reducing the HAM-D-17 total score at week 8 vs. baseline (intent-to-treat: trazodone -12.9, venlafaxine -14.7; per protocol: trazodone -15.4, venlafaxine -16.4). Patients in the venlafaxine group achieved better results after 8 weeks, whereas the trazodone group achieved a statistically significant reduction in HAM-D-17 following only 7 days of treatment. The most frequent adverse events (AEs) were dizziness and somnolence in the trazodone group, and nausea and headache in the venlafaxine group. Most AEs were mild-to-moderate in severity. This study confirmed that both venlafaxine XR and trazodone OAD may represent a valid treatment option for patients with MDD.

Suicidal behavior and attitudes in Slovak and Turkish high school students: a cross-cultural investigation.

Suicidal behavior and its variation across social contexts are of importance for the science of suicidology. Due to its special character controlled experimental studies on suicide are ruled out for ethical reasons. Cross-cultural studies may throw light on the etiology of both suicidal behavior and its cross-cultural variation. The present study compared suicidal behavior and attitudes in 423 Slovak and 541 Turkish high school students by means of a self-report questionnaire. The two groups reported similar percentages (Slovak = 36.4%; Turkish = 33.8%) of lifetime, past 12-months or current suicidal ideation but significantly more Turkish (12.2%) than Slovak (4.8%) students reported lifetime or past 12-months suicide attempts. Slovak adolescents displayed more liberal and permissive attitudes toward suicide, while those of Turkish adolescents were more rejecting. Turkish students rated themselves to be more religious and hence they believed to a greater extent that suicidal persons would be punished in a life after death than their Slovak peers. However, attitudes of Turkish students toward an imagined suicidal close friend were more accepting than the attitudes of Slovak students. Comparison of suicidal and nonsuicidal students revealed that those reporting suicidal ideation or attempts were more accepting of suicide and viewed suicide as a solution to a greater extent than the nonsuicidal ones. The results from this study suggest that cultural factors play a role in suicidal behavior, attitudes and reactions in a predicted direction.