Gender-specific analyses suggest larger proportional increases among females. No similar increase in suicide was seen among the other age groups.
‘Study results point to the need for public health and suicide experts to work with the entertainment industry to prevent harmful portrayals of suicide.’
The results of this study should be interpreted with caution, in part because the study was based on data that makes it impossible to know whether people who died from suicide had actually watched the show. Individuals thinking about suicide or worried about someone else can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.
Authors: Thomas Niederkrotenthaler, M.D., Ph.D., M.M.Sc., of the Medical University of Vienna, Center for Public Health, Vienna, Austria, and coauthors
(doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2019.0922)
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Source: Eurekalert