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ABSTRACT: A study by USA. Combining pollen and suicide data of more than a decade shows that the high days of pollen are linked to a measurable increase in the risk of suicide. The risk increased increase with pollen levels, reaching a 7.4% increase in the highest days.
Vulnerable groups, including those with mental health stories, white men and black individuals, were more affected. Researchers warn that as climate change extends pollen seasons, these risks can intensify, highlighting the need to improve forecast, consciousness of mental health and custom care.
Key facts
Risk increase: up to 7.4% of higher suicide rates on high pollen days. Vulnerable groups: the strongest effects on white men, but also notable in black individuals and those with mental health history. Threat of strength: climate change can double the impact by the end of the century.
Source: Michigan University
Beyond sneezing and itching eyes, high seasons of pollen are now linked to a significant increase in suicide risk.
A new study by the University of Michigan found a 7.4% leap in deaths, which suggests that the physical discomfort of allergies can trigger a deeper and more dangerous despair, a factor that is overlooked in suicide prevention.
The study indicates that the physiological effects of allergies, such as bad dream and mental anguish, can contribute to this greatest risk.
“A small shock could have a great effect if it is already in a vulnerable state,” said Joelle Abramowitz, a scientist of associated research at the UM Social Research Institute. “We specifically observe the pollen of all the different types of plants, including trees, weeds and herbs.”
The effect is incremental. The researchers divided pollen levels into four levels and discovered that the risk of suicide increased with each group: it increased by 4.5% in the second level, 5.5% in the third and reached its maximum point by 7.4% in the fourth and highest category.
The study, funded by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the UM ISR, combines daily pollen data of 186 counties from 34 metropolitan areas in the United States, with suicide data of the National System of Violent Death Reports between 2006 and 2018.
Abramowitz and co -authors Shooshan Danagoulian and Owen Fleming of Wayne State University said that although the structural factors for suicide are well investigated, short -term triggers are understood less.
Pollen allergies are an ideal issue for this research, considering that they are an exogenous shock, which means that they are external and are not caused by the mental health of an individual.
“During our study period, there were almost 500,000 suicides in the United States,” Abramowitz said. “According to our incremental data, we estimate that pollen may have been a factor that contributes to up to 12,000 of those deaths during the period, or approximately 900 to 1,200 deaths per year.”
Vulnerable populations
Published in the Journal of Health Economics, the study also found that people with a known mental health condition or who had received a previous mental health treatment had an incidence of suicide 8.6% higher in the days with the highest levels of pollen.
White men strongly drive the effect, but the study also found unexpectedly high vulnerability among black individuals.
“While the data of our study come from the USA.
“This is supported by previous research that found similar relationships in places like Tokyo and Denmark. Our results, therefore, provide new crucial evidence that this phenomenon is a worldwide consistent world tendency.”
Public Health and Consciousness
The approach must be in health and public education, since reducing the number of pollen producing plants is not a viable option, researchers suggest. This includes a more precise pollen prognosis and better public communication.
Providing people with clear and timely information on high pollen days allows them to take proactive measures. Additional recommendations are to limit outdoor activities, use a mask or have antihistamines by hand.
A broader approach to mental health awareness is also necessary, the authors said. Medical care providers, particularly those in primary care, can benefit from understanding the connection between environmental factors, such as pollen and patient well -being.
This knowledge could help them adapt care more effectively, especially for vulnerable patients, and serve as a warning to discuss mental health and stress management during high pollen seasons or other periods of environmental stress.
“We should be more aware of our capacity to respond to small environmental changes, such as pollen and our mental health in general,” AbramoWitz said.
“Given our findings, I think that medical suppliers should know the history of a patient allergies, since another research has also established a connection between allergies and a greater risk of suicide. I hope this research can lead to more personalized care and, ultimately, save lives.”
Key questions:
A: suicide deaths increased to 7.4% during the days with the highest pollen levels.
A: The effect was stronger in white men, but also unexpectedly high among black people and those with previous mental health conditions.
A: Allergies interrupt sleep and increase mental anguish, which may worsen vulnerability to suicidal thoughts.
On this mental health and suicide news
Author: Fernanda Pires
Source: Michigan University
Contact: Fernanda Pires – University of Michigan
Image: The image is accredited to Neuroscience News
Original research: open access.
“Seasonal allergies and Mental Health: Do little health shocks affect suicide?” By Joelle Abramowitz et al. Journal of Health Economics
Abstract
Seasonal allergies and mental health: Do small health shocks affect suicide?
Suicide rates increased 37% in the US from 2000 to 2018; Although structural factors are widely studied, short -term triggers remain less understood. We examine the impact of the small exogenous clashes, the allergies caused by the seasonal pollen) on suicides.
Pollen allergies decrease cognitive function and interrupt sleep: suicide predicorts. Combining disparate data sets in 34 locations in the United States from 2006 to 2018, we use a specification with granular fixed effects to identify the effect of pollen on suicides of daily variation in each.
We find that as pollen levels increase, suicide count in a county increases, up to 7.4% more suicides when pollen levels at their highest levels. We find that people with a known mental health condition or treatment have 8.6% of greater incidence of suicides in the days with the highest pollen.
We also show that this effect is not spurious: Google searches for allergy and depression symptoms increase substantially as pollen levels increase.
These estimates are solid for multiple specifications. As climate change extends and intensifies the pollen season, we expect its impact on more than double the number of suicides by the end of the century.
These results point to the importance of relatively small exogenous shocks in suicide and the potential for relatively economic and routine medical care measures, such as allergy and treatment tests to improve mental health.
