Furious Seasons

July 16, 2009

Wednesdays Top Mondays For Suicides

Via the Indianapolis Star's Take After Meals blog comes word of a study by researchers at UC-Riverside, published in Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, which lays to rest the longstanding claim that most suicides occur on Mondays. As it turns out, Wednesday is the most common day for suicide at 24.6 percent of all suicides in America from 2000 to 2004. Monday came in third at 14.3 percent.

Summer is the most common season for suicide--a fact long known to researchers--at 26 percent of all US suicides. It's followed closely by Spring at 25.8 percent.

What all of this might mean to clinicians and patients isn't obvious to me, but it does add an interesting bit of information to the realms of suicidology.

The above blog's author saw the findings in a local light:

"[U]nderstanding the triggers of suicide could help companies like Indianapolis drugmaker Eli Lilly and Co. treat it more effectively."

Yes, I can see the TV ads from Lilly now. "It's Wednesday and you are in mortal danger of killing yourself today. Please take your Cymbalta right now."

Starting with Sunday, the suicide percentage of each day of the week played out thus: 11.8, 14.3, 12.7, 24.6, 11.1, 11.2, 14.4.

Autumn suicides were 23.8 percent of all suicides and Winter's were 24.4 percent.

Posted by Philip Dawdy at July 16, 2009 09:46 AM

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Comments

I really don't know what to make of the Wednesday suicide spike.

Posted by: Francesca Allan at July 16, 2009 11:20 AM

Yes Cymbalta. One of my favorite drugs.

Coated mothballs (naphthalene).

They had to coat it because naphthalene converts to naphthol in stomach acid.

You didn't think they did it to make it a once daily dosage did you?

Just make sure you don't take it with a glass of wine. You wouldn't want that coating to dissolve too early now.

Posted by: X at July 16, 2009 03:49 PM

I propose we pass a law called the Babies' Act which would provide mandatory screening for all babies born on a Wednesday.

Posted by: Lisa at July 16, 2009 08:37 PM

You would think shrink researches would be smart enough not fall prey to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apophenia aka "Type I error". Man's weakness is to try and put pattern to random data. 75% of statistics are made up on the spot.

How long before they decide the seriousness of attempt/desire is based on the day they do it on?
Would it go something like this "You said you feel suicidal and are planning to do it on tuesday, here's a follow up appointment. You aren't really serious, since you aren't planning on a Wednesday or a Monday date".

The worst part this false research could be used to protect them against malpractice, trying to judge by the weekday for people who live day to day isn't very valid. Simple factors in a complex problem are usually false answers. Although there may be a certain factor of "its another or new week and I'm still stuck in...." at play for a motivator to go ahead and quit lolly gagging around over it. A reminder or pressure to "if you're going to do it, get on with it"... insert the fallacy of people who hesitate aren't serious...

I guess with this logic the question should be is this the starting day of the method/attempt or when the act fully completes? Because if they start late/early in they day, does that change the predicting factor....

Cymbalta is in itself a large motivator factor for how horrid it makes you feel. In before wank about this drug saved my life.....

Posted by: T at July 17, 2009 11:27 AM