TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2017//
TI  - Arsenic: association of regional concentrations in drinking water with suicide and natural causes of death in italy
JO  - Psychiatry research
A1  - Pompili, Maurizio
A1  - Vichi, Monica
A1  - Dinelli, Enrico
A1  - Erbuto, Denise
A1  - Pycha, Roger
A1  - Serafini, Gianluca
A1  - Giordano, Gloria
A1  - Valera, Paolo
A1  - Albanese, Stefano
A1  - Lima, Annamaria
A1  - De Vivo, Benedetto
A1  - Cicchella, Domenico
A1  - Rihmer, Zoltan
A1  - Fiorillo, Andrea
A1  - Amore, Mario
A1  - Girardi, Paolo
A1  - Baldessarini, Ross J.
SP  - 311
EP  - 317
VL  - 249
IS  - 
N2  - Arsenic, as a toxin, may be associated with higher mortality rates, although its relationship to suicide is not clear. Given this uncertainty, we evaluated associations between local arsenic concentrations in tapwater and mortality in regions of Italy, to test the hypothesis that both natural-cause and suicide death rates would be higher with greater trace concentrations of arsenic. Arsenic concentrations in drinking-water samples from 145 sites were assayed by mass spectrometry, and correlated with local rates of mortality due to suicide and natural causes between 1980 and 2011, using weighted, least-squares univariate and multivariate regression modeling. Arsenic concentrations averaged 0.969 (CI: 0.543-1.396) µg/L, well below an accepted safe maximum of 10µg/L. Arsenic levels were negatively associated with corresponding suicide rates, consistently among both men and women in all three study-decades, whereas mortality from natural causes increased with arsenic levels. Contrary to an hypothesized greater risk of suicide with higher concentrations of arsenic, we found a negative association, suggesting a possible protective effect, whereas mortality from natural causes was increased, in accord with known toxic effects of arsenic. The unexpected inverse association between arsenic and suicide requires further study.<br><br>Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0165-1781
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2017.01.041
ID  - ref1
ER  -