Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Higher Altitude Increases Suicide Risk
The Intermountain West is renowned for the beauty of its towering mountains and high deserts, but according to new research from an investigator with the University of Utah Brain Institute the region’s lofty altitudes significantly influence a deadly problem: the high prevalence of suicides in this part of the country.
In the Sept. 15, 2010, online edition of the American Journal of Psychiatry, Perry F. Renshaw, M.D., Ph.D., MBA, professor of psychiatry at the U School of Medicine and an investigator with Utah Science Technology and Research (USTAR) initiative, and colleagues report that the risk for suicide increases by nearly one-third at an altitude of 2,000 meters, or approximately 6,500 feet above sea level.
Posted by Craig Jones on 09/15/10 at 02:25 PM
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