Suicide seasonality: Evidence of 11-year cyclic oscillations in Brazilian suicide rates

Abstract

Several researchers have studied suicide seasonality through different statistical approaches. In the present research, we performed a detailed statistical study of Brazilian suicide data registered from 1980 to 2010 using a new approach known as Threshold Bias Model (TBM). Eleven-year cyclic oscillations were observed in suicide rates that, at first sight, appear as being negatively correlated with the cycles of solar activity. Such oscillations are more noticeable for males although they also have been observed in the female rates.

Keywords

• suicide
• seasonal variations
• solar activity