Prague, Aug 30 (CTK) – Climate is more strongly responsible for the rising number of suicides than the economic crisis, this is what scientists mapping 29 countries have found out, Cyril Hoeschl, director of the Czech National Institute of Mental Health and a co-author of the study, has told CTK.
He said the study has refuted the opinion that the recent economic crisis raised the suicide rate.
“It shows that climate is a stronger factor than an economic crisis,” Hoeschl said.
He said across the crisis-hit countries, a belt is running from the south to the northeast, where the suicide rate is highest in the Baltic countries and Russia. To put it simply, where there is a higher unemployment in society and a stronger winter at the same time, the suicide rate is higher, Hoeschl said.
In Greece which was severely hit by the crisis, the suicide rate only went up little compared to other areas.
“Critics could object that this is attributable to religion, but society is quite strongly secularised there now and it is no more religious than Slovakia, where the suicide rate is much higher,” Hoeschl said.
The study focused on 29 European countries in 2000-12 included data by the World Health Organisation on the suicide rate of men and women, the economic data by the World Bank and climate variables.
Hoeschl said the study could continue in two directions. In one, it would include alcohol consumption, religiosity and the divorce rate. In the other, the climate influence would be paid greater attention.
“This would mean that the study would be repeated in ten years, perhaps. According to our hypothesis, global warming would bring about a lower suicide rate in the same place if it grew warmer,” Hoeschl said.
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