Study Suggests Suicide Linked to Thinness

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Study Suggests Suicide Linked to Thinness By Randy Dotinga

HealthDay Reporter

Thu Dec 29,11:47 PM ET

THURSDAY, Dec. 29 (HealthDay News) -- Overweight people appear to be

the least likely to kill themselves, a new Swedish study suggests.

The researchers tracked 1.3 million male military recruits for as

long as 31 years, and found the risk of suicide was highest among

those who were the skinniest.

However, two American suicide specialists question the unusual

findings, and both suspect that psychiatric disorders may have

played a role in the higher suicide rates seen in the study.

" Undiagnosed, untreated or undertreated mental illness is the most

probable explanation here, " said M. Rudd, chairman of the

Department of Psychology at Texas Tech University.

There hasn't been much research into a possible link between body

weight and suicide. People who try to kill themselves have often

gained or lost weight, " but it's viewed as secondary to the

diagnosed mental disorder, " Rudd noted.

In the new study, researchers analyzed medical records of Swedish

men who were conscripted into military service from 1968 to 1999.

They found that suicide rates were related to weight as measured by

body-mass index, a ratio of height to weight. As body mass indexes

went up, the suicide rates went down by 15 percent increments, the

researchers said.

The study authors said the link held up even when they removed

recruits who had mental problems when they were first conscripted at

age 18 or 19.

The findings appear in the Jan. 1 issue of the American Journal of

Epidemiology.

But there might be more mental illness at work here than the Swedish

researchers considered, said Joiner, a professor of

psychology at Florida State University and author of the book, Why

People Die by Suicide. He suspects that some of the young men who

later committed suicide might have suffered from undiagnosed

psychological disorders at the time of their recruitment. Their

illnesses, in turn, could have caused low weight, often a symptom of

depression.

" The (study) authors attempt to argue that this is not the

explanation, but I don't think they have adequately ruled it out, "

Joiner said.

Another " far more speculative link, " he said, is that people with

appetite problems and people who commit suicide may share problems

with serotonin, a brain chemical that helps regulate emotions.

Regardless of whether there's a link between body weight and

suicide, Rudd said there can be cause for concern when someone slims

down or fattens up -- often quickly or dramatically. Weight

fluctuations are frequently the sign of a mental or physical

illness, he noted.

More information

Learn more about suicide from the American Foundation for Suicide

Prevention.