Study show suicide peak in December for some groups

Researchers from the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration have been studying seasonal variations in drug-related suicide attempts. They analysed data from 2004 to 2008 and found that, on average, emergency departments dealt with 178,423 visits for drug-related suicide attempts by people aged 12 and over. For most groups there was little seasonal variation in suicide attempts but both boys (18.9%) and men over 50 (12.9%) were most likely to try and kill themselves in December. Boys were least likely to try and kill themselves in February (2.5%) while older men were least likely to commit suicide in October (5.5%).