Articlegreen2010

Altitude, Gun Ownership, Rural Areas, and Suicide

Namkug Kim · Jennie B. Mickelson · Barry E. Brenner · Charlotte A. Haws · Deborah A Yurgelun-Todd · Perry Franklin Renshaw

111 citations0/0 files storedAmerican Journal of Psychiatry

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Suicide and Self-Harm Studies Gun Ownership and Violence Research Homicide, Infanticide, and Child Abuse

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The authors recently observed a correlation between state altitude and suicide rate in the United States, which could be explained by higher rates of gun ownership and lower population density in the intermountain West. The present study evaluated the relationship between mean county and state altitude in the United States and total age-adjusted suicide rates, firearm-related suicide rates, and non-firearm-related suicide rates. The authors hypothesized that altitude would be significantly associated with suicide rate. METHOD: Elevation data were calculated with an approximate spatial resolution of 0.5 km, using zonal statistics on data sets compiled from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Suicide and population density data were obtained through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) WONDER database. Gun ownership data were obtained through the CDC's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. RESULTS: A significant positive correlation was observed between age-adjusted suicide rate and county elevation (r=0.51). Firearm (r=0.41) and non-firearm suicide rates (r=0.32) were also positively correlated with mean county elevation. CONCLUSIONS: When altitude, gun ownership, and population density are considered as predictor variables for suicide rates on a state basis, altitude appears to be a significant independent risk factor. This association may be related to the effects of metabolic stress associated with mild hypoxia in individuals with mood disorders.

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2009Suicide 2009Cross-National Analysis of the Associations among Mental Disorders and Suicidal Behavior: Findings from the WHO World Mental Health Surveys 2008Suicidal risk factors and completed suicide: meta-analyses based on psychological autopsy studies 2006A Review of the Literature on Rural Suicide 2007Household Firearm Ownership and Rates of Suicide Across the 50 United States 2006Suicide Rates in Relation to Health Care Access in the United States 2008Guns and Suicide in the United States 2009Recent psychopathology, suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts in households with and without firearms: findings from the National Comorbidity Study Replication

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