Asthma Linked to Increased Suicide Risk

Lung trouble and suicide may be linked, CNN Health reports in its Toxic America series article titled Air Pollution, Asthma Linked to Suicide.

The finding that asthma, and even bad air, may lead to an increased incidence of suicide is based on two studies conducted in Asia and published in the American Journal of Psychology. The crux of the research indicates that respiratory problems may worsen a person's mental state.

The South Korean study that associates air pollution with suicide found that when particulate matter (a type of air pollution) rose, the suicide rate increased by 9 percent. Among those who also suffered from heart disease, the risk of suicide rose by 19 percent.

Dr. John Mann, a psychiatrist and professor of translational neuroscience at Colombia University in New York, points out that the study does not substantiate a causal link between the air pollution and suicide, but also concedes that the study offers an "intriguing and puzzling finding that clearly needs to be explored in more detail."

Though a causal link is not definite, the study's authors offer a number of explanations for the possibility of one: Lead, mercury, diesel exhaust, and other substances in particulate matter may impact neurological functioning. Alternately, particulate matter may cause inflammation which is associated with depression. Inflammation may also worsen the symptoms of other chronic conditions, which also could account for the increase in suicides.

A Taiwanese study followed asthmatic teens for over a decade to look at a possible link between asthma and suicide. Findings indicated that asthmatic teenagers were more than twice as likely to kill themselves; the likelihood of suicide was even higher when they experienced several asthmatic symptoms.

The study concluded that about 1 in 14 of the suicides among this group were related to asthma, most likely because of the illness's physical toll combined with its psychological and social challenges. Previous research in the United States corroborates this link.

The upshot of such findings seems to be that parents and doctors should be looking for signs of depression and anxiety in asthmatic young people. As Wayne Katon, M.D., chief of psychiatric services at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle puts it, "The implication is that doctors should be screening for depression, anxiety, and suicidality in their patients with asthma."

For more information on the mental effects of allergic conditions, see Childhood Eczema Influences Mental Health.