High altitude remains associated with elevated suicide rates after adjusting for socioeconomic status: a study from South Korea.
There have been several studies supporting a possible relationship between high suicide rate and high altitude. However socioeconomic status may confound this association because low socioeconomic status, which is known to be related to a high suicide rate, is also associated with living at high altitude. This study aims to explore whether the relationship between high altitude and high suicide rate remains after adjusting for socioeconomic status in South Korea. We collected demographic data of completed suicides, the mean altitude of the district where each suicide took place, and the mean income of each district. We analyzed the data using regression analysis before and after adjustment for mean income. We found that there is a positive correlation between altitude and suicide rate, even after adjustment for mean income. Thus, altitude appears to be an independent risk factor for suicide.
Department of Psychiatry, Korea University College of Medicine,Seoul, Republic of Korea. ; Department of Medicine, Korea University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Jaelim
J
Kim
Department of Biostatistics, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Nari
N
Choi
Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University College of Medicine,Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Yu-Jin
YJ
Lee
Department of Biostatistics, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Hyonggin
H
An
Department of Radiology and Research Institute of Radiology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Namkug
N
Kim
Department of Psychiatry, Korea University College of Medicine,Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Ho-Kyoung
HK
Yoon
Department of Psychiatry, Korea University College of Medicine,Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Heon-Jeong
HJ
Lee
Altitude; Socioeconomic status; South Korea; Suicide rate