title: Preliminary investigation of the possible association between arsenic levels in drinking water and suicide mortality.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Arsenic-contaminated drinking water (ACDW) represents a major global public health problem. A few previous studies suggested that consuming ACDW may be associated with elevated risk for depression.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Since depression is the most relevant risk factor for suicide, we hypothesized that consumption of ACDW may be also associated with suicide.
  
  
  METHODS
  To investigate this, we compared the age-standardized suicide rates (SSR) of 1639 Hungarian settlements with low (≤10μg/l), intermediate (11-30μg/l), high (31-50μg/l) and very high (≥51μg/l) levels of arsenic in drinking water.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found a positive association between SSR and consumption of ACDW.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  (1) we used aggregated (i.e., non-individual) data; (2) we have not adjusted our model for important medical and socio-demographic determinants of suicidal behavior; (3) we had no data on differences in bottled water consumption between settlements.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results indicate that in addition to its well-known adverse health effects, consumption of ACDW may also be associated with suicidal behavior.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Theoretical Mental Health, Semmelweis University, Faculty of Medicine, Budapest, Hungary; National Institute of Psychiatry and Addictions, Laboratory for Suicide Research and Prevention, Budapest, Hungary. Electronic address: rihmer.zoltan@med.semmelweis-univ.hu.
authors.forename: Zoltán
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Rihmer
authors.affiliation: Pázmány Péter Catholic University, Institute of Psychology, Piliscsaba, Hungary.
authors.forename: Melinda
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hal
authors.affiliation: Demographic Research Institute of the Hungarian Central Statistical Office, Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: Balázs
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kapitány
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Theoretical Mental Health, Semmelweis University, Faculty of Medicine, Budapest, Hungary; National Institute of Psychiatry and Addictions, Laboratory for Suicide Research and Prevention, Budapest, Hungary; MTA-SE Neuropsychopharmacology and Neurochemistry Research Group, Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: Xénia
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Gonda
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Environmental Health, Department of Water Hygiene, Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: Márta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vargha
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Theoretical Mental Health, Semmelweis University, Faculty of Medicine, Budapest, Hungary; National Institute of Psychiatry and Addictions, Laboratory for Suicide Research and Prevention, Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: Péter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Döme
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001151:Arsenic / Q000032:analysis*; D060766:Drinking Water / Q000737:chemistry*; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000032:analysis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D006814:Hungary; D012306:Risk; D012307:Risk Factors; D013405:Suicide / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D014877:Water Pollution, Chemical / Q000032:analysis* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014881:Water Supply / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
chemical_list: D060766:Drinking Water; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D001151:Arsenic
keywords: Arsenic; Drinking water; Risk factor; Suicide