Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 21, 2026

A Method of Trigonometric Modelling of Seasonal Variation Demonstrated with Multiple Sclerosis Relapse Data
Published on: December 9, 2015
Association between sunshine hours and suicide attempts: Evidence from a retrospective study in Southern India
Murugavel Veeramani1, Farsana Banu1, Vishnu Rajan2
1Department of Psychiatry, ESIC Medical College, KK Nagar, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
Background:
Suicide is a growing public health concern in India. While psychological and sociocultural factors are well studied, the role of climatic influences like sunshine duration remains underexplored.
Aims:
To investigate seasonal patterns in suicide attempts and assess the relationship between suicide incidence and sunshine duration in southern India.
Methods:
A retrospective cross-sectional study analyzed 411 suicide attempt cases from July 2017 to June 2022 at a tertiary hospital in Chennai. Demographic and clinical data were extracted, and sunshine duration was sourced from the India Meteorological Department.
Results:
Most attempts involved females (69%) and adults aged 19-59 (73%). Medication overdose was the leading method (46%). Attempts peaked in July, while sunshine was the highest in February-May. A strong inverse correlation was found (r = -0.81; P = 0.001). Attempts were most frequent in the early evening and on Fridays.
Conclusion:
Lower sunshine duration correlates with increased suicide attempts, highlighting the need to integrate environmental factors into prevention strategies.
Related Concept Videos
Long-term Depression
Long-term Depression
Calcium Ion Concentration Mechanism
If over time, all...
Bias in Epidemiological Studies
Assumptions of Survival Analysis
Psychological and Sociocultural Causes of Schizophrenia
Observational Studies
There are three types of observational studies – Prospective, retrospective, and cross-sectional.
Prospective Study
Prospective studies, also known as longitudinal or cohort studies, are carried out by collecting future data from groups sharing similar characteristics. One example of...
