Year: 2010 Source: Wilderness and Environmental Medicine, v.21, no.2, (June 2010), p.177-178 SIEC No: 20100606

In 2002, the author & colleagues presented limited data that suggested a higher suicide death rate in the Rocky Mountain states (Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, & Wyoming). This letter to the editor expands on that study, covering data from 1979-2006 as well as addressing gender, race, & socioeconomic factors. A correlation coefficient diagram between altitude & the suicide death rate was developed. Results indicate the suicide death rate remains higher in the Rocky Mountain states & the greatest differential was between the mountain states & the lowest altitude states. The exact biochemical mechanism for the association between altitude & the suicide death rate remains unknown. (5 refs.) JA