title: Body mass index and risk of suicide among one million US adults.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Body mass index (BMI) has been linked with both increased and decreased risk of suicide attempts and deaths.
  
  
  METHODS
  In a prospective cohort study of 1.1 million adults, participants reported their anthropometric and other characteristics in 1982. Participants were followed for cause-specific mortality through 2004.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 2231 participants died of suicide during 21.6 million person-years of follow-up. Compared with a BMI of 18.5-22.9 kg/m(2), adjusted hazard ratios for completed suicide were 0.99 (95% confidence interval = 0.72-1.37), 0.78 (0.69-0.88), 0.73 (0.65-0.82), 0.72 (0.62-0.83), 0.77 (0.65-0.92), and 0.55 (0.36-0.83) for BMI values <18.5, 23.0-24.9, 25.0-27.4, 27.5-29.9, 30.0-34.9, and >or=35.0 kg/m(2), respectively. The relationship was consistent among men and women and across geographic regions, but was limited to married individuals (test for interaction, P = 0.009).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The risk of death from suicide is inversely related to BMI in middle-aged and older adults.
authors.affiliation: Division of General Medicine and Primary Care, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA 02446, USA. kmukamal@bidmc.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Kenneth J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Mukamal
authors.forename: Eric B
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Rimm
authors.forename: Ichiro
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kawachi
authors.forename: Eilis J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: O'Reilly
authors.forename: Eugenia E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Calle
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Miller
mesh_terms: D015992:Body Mass Index; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013405:Suicide; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology