Year: 2002 Source: American Journal of Psychiatry, v.159, no.7, (July 2002), p.1247-1248 SIEC No: 20050124

In this letter to the editor, the authors report the impact of the total solar eclipse of August 11, 1999, on the incidence of suicide in Austria. They found no decrease in suicide incidence on eclipse day, and all 6 suicides on eclipse day were by men & occurred exclusively in the regions crossed by the path of totality in which unusually large numbers of people gathered. The implications of these findings are discussed & opportunities for further research are identified. (5 refs)