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Is there a relationship between general population suicide rates and smoking?A cross-national study
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Ajit Shah1,2，Ritesh Bhandarkar2 1 University of Central Lancashire,Preston,United Kingdom
2 West London Mental Health NHS Trust,London,United Kingdom Correspondence to Ajit Shah,West London Mental Health NHS Trust,Uxbridge Road,Southall,Middlesex,UB1 3EU,United Kingdom E-mail:ajit.shah@wlmht.nhs.u
[Abstract]Background and Objective An independent relationship between smoking cigarettes and completed suicides has been reported in several cohort and case-control studies of younger subjects.Methods The relationship between the prevalence of smoking in males and females and general population suicide rates in males and females was examined using national-level aggregate data from the World Health Organization and the United Nations Development Programme websites.In addition to univariate analysis,multivariate analysis were conducted to ascertain an independent relationship between the prevalence of smoking and elderly suicide rates.Results The main findings were:（ⅰ） on univariate analysis,the prevalence of smoking in males was positively correlated with suicide rates in males,but this relationship was absent in females;（ⅱ） on multivariate analysis there was no independent relationship between the prevalence of smoking in males and suicide rates in males.Conclusion There is a case for examination of the relationship between smoking and general population suicides in individual-level cohort or case-control studies because of the potential methodological difficulties in cross-national studies using national-level aggregate data.
[Document Indexing]
Ajit Shah1,2，Ritesh Bhandarkar2.Is there a relationship between general population suicide rates and smoking?A cross-national study.Journal of Chinese Clinical Medicine,2008,3(7):379-382.
[Reference Document]
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