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Zeitliche Aspekte von Suiziden – Häufigkeit von Suiziden in Beziehung zu Geburtstag, Feiertagen, Wochentagen, Jahreszeit sowie Geburtsmonat und Sternzeichen

Time-related aspects of suicides – suicide frequency related to birthday, major holidays, day of the week, season, month of birth and zodiac signs

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Zusammenfassung

Grundlagen

Suizide geschehen, wenn die Bewältigungsstrategien des Individuums für psychische, soziale oder interne bzw. externe biologische Belastungsfaktoren überfordert werden. Auch der Zeitpunkt des Suizids kann durch äußere Faktoren mitbestimmt werden. Bisherige Untersuchungen haben teilweise widersprüchliche Befunde zum Zusammenhang der Suizidhäufigkeit mit bestimmten Tagen und Jahreszeiten erbracht. Noch weniger ist bekannt über einen allfälligen Einfluss der Zeit der Geburt auf das spätere Suizidrisiko.

Methodik

Im Tiroler Suizidregister (TSR) werden alle im Bundesland Tirol verübten Suizide, unter anderem mit Geburts- und Suiziddatum, erfasst. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurden die Tiroler Suizide aus 17 Jahren hinsichtlich ihrer Häufigkeit vor und nach Weihnachten, Neujahr und dem Geburtstag, an einzelnen Wochentagen und nach der Jahreszeit analysiert. Weiters wurde untersucht, ob das Geburtsmonat bzw. das Sternzeichen in Zusammenhang mit der Suizidhäufigkeit steht.

Ergebnisse

Signifikante Abweichungen von den zu erwartenden Suizidzahlen zeigten sich für die Verteilung nach Wochentagen mit einer Häufung am Montag und am Dienstag sowie für die jahreszeitliche Verteilung mit einer höheren Zahl an Suiziden in den Frühjahr‑/Sommermonaten.

Schlussfolgerungen

Für die Suizidhäufung zu Wochenbeginn könnte der „broken-promise effect“, also die Folge enttäuschter Erwartungen bezüglich des Erholungseffekts oder erhoffter Erlebnisse am Wochenende verantwortlich sein. Die größere Inzidenz von Suiziden im Frühling und Sommer kann einerseits mit biologischen, mit dem serotonergen Nervensystem assoziierten Faktoren, zum anderen mit dem Erleben depressiver Menschen erklärt werden, die gerade in den Zeiten, die für ihre Umgebung Genuss und Freude an Außenaktivitäten bedeuten, ihre sozialen und emotionalen Defizite umso stärker wahrnehmen.

Summary

Background

Suicides are generally the consequence of overchallenged coping strategies of individual for psychological, social or internal and external biological strain factors. Timing of the suicide, too, may be influenced by external factors. Studies so far have yielded in part inconsistent results concerning the association of suicides with particular days or periods of the year. Even less is known regarding a potential effect of the time of birth on suicide risk.

Methods

The Tyrol Suicide Register (TSR) provides data on suicides occurring in the Austrian State of Tyrol including birthday of the suicide victim and day of the suicide. In the present study the frequency of suicides was analyzed with regard to birthday, day of the week, major holidays and season over a period of 17 years. Further, a potential association with month of birth and zodiac signs was studied.

Results

We found a significant variation in suicide frequency concerning day of the week with a peak on Mondays and Tuesdays and seasonality with increased numbers in spring and summer months.

Conclusions

The increase of suicide numbers at the beginning of the week may be explained by the “broken-promise effect” which has been described as the consequence of frustrated expectations concerning the weekend. Possible explanations for the suicide peaks in spring and summer may be biological, specifically serotonergic alterations as well as the experience of depressed patients perceiving the social and emotional contrast to people who are able to enjoy these periods of pleasure and outdoor activities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universitätsklinik für Psychiatrie 1, Medizinische Universität Innsbruck, Anichstraße 35, 6020, Innsbruck, Österreich

    Eberhard A. Deisenhammer, Christoph Stiglbauer & Georg Kemmler

  2. Universitätsklinik für Psychiatrie 2, Medizinische Universität Innsbruck, Anichstraße 35, 6020, Innsbruck, Österreich

    Eberhard A. Deisenhammer

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Correspondence to Eberhard A. Deisenhammer.

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E.A. Deisenhammer, C. Stiglbauer und G. Kemmler geben an, dass kein Interessenkonflikt besteht.

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Deisenhammer, E.A., Stiglbauer, C. & Kemmler, G. Zeitliche Aspekte von Suiziden – Häufigkeit von Suiziden in Beziehung zu Geburtstag, Feiertagen, Wochentagen, Jahreszeit sowie Geburtsmonat und Sternzeichen. Neuropsychiatr 32, 93–100 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40211-018-0260-7

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