Tree Pollen Peaks are Associated With Increased Nonviolent Suicide in Women

In this letter to the editor, the authors report on a study in which they compared the suicide rates before, during, & after periods of peak atmospheric pollen. During the treee allergy season there was a two-fold increase in the rate of nonviolent suicides among younger females in the peak-pollen period compared with the prepollen period. In older females, the rate of nonviolent suicide in the postpollen period was 4.6 times that of the prepollen period. Further research is exploring explanatory mechanisms. The present research may contribute to the stress-diathesis concept of depression-induced suicide, open new perspectives on environmental precipitants, & lead to the development of novel therapeutic approaches to suicide prevention. (10 refs.)