Temporal fluctuations and seasonality in attempted suicide in Europe - Findings from the WHO/EURO multicentre study on parasuicide

The temporal variations (month of the year, day of the week, and time of da y) in attempted suicide have been studied from data on 13,553 suicide attem pts by persons aged 15 years and over from 13 centres participating in the WHO/EURO Multicentre Study on Parasuicide mainly in the three-year period 1 990-1992. Seasonal and temporal fluctuation in suicide attempts were found throughout Europe. The seasonal pattern for attempted suicide was similar w ith that seen for suicide with a spring peak and a nadir in December, but o nly in females. In contrast with suicide, in which deaths are most common o n Mondays, the peak days for attempted suicide was Sunday with fewest attem pts occurring on Friday. Again this pattern was only statistically signific ant in females. The peak time of day for attempted suicide in both series w as the late evening, whereas suicide is most frequent in the daytime. Our f inding that half of the suicide attempts occur in the evening or early part of the night is particularly relevant to prevention, especially the availa bility of telephone help-lines and the accessibility of other sources of he lp for people in crisis.