Consistency of immigrant suicide rates in Austria with country-of-birth suicide rates: A role for genetic risk factors for suicide?

Voracek, Martin; Loibl, Lisa Mariella; Dervic, Kanita; Kapusta, Nestor D.; Niederkrotenthaler, Thomas; Sonneck, Gernot

doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2008.10.032

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Volume 170, Issue 2 , Pages 286-289, 30 December 2009

Consistency of immigrant suicide rates in Austria with country-of-birth suicide rates: A role for genetic risk factors for suicide?

Martin Voracek
- Department of Basic Psychological Research, School of Psychology, University of Vienna, Austria
- Corresponding author. Department of Basic Psychological Research, School of Psychology, University of Vienna, Liebiggasse 5, Rm 03-46, A-1010 Vienna, Austria. Tel.: +43 1 4277 47846; fax: +43 1 4277 47849.
Lisa Mariella Loibl
- Department of Basic Psychological Research, School of Psychology, University of Vienna, Austria
Kanita Dervic
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Medical University of Vienna, Austria
Nestor D. Kapusta
- Department of Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Austria
Thomas Niederkrotenthaler
- Department of Medical Psychology, Center for Public Health, Medical University of Vienna, Austria
Gernot Sonneck
- Department of Medical Psychology, Center for Public Health, Medical University of Vienna, Austria

Received 19 March 2008; received in revised form 7 August 2008; accepted 24 October 2008.

Abstract

Multifaceted evidence (family, twin, adoption, molecular genetic, geographic, and surname studies of suicide) suggests genetic risk factors for suicide. The migrant study design is also informative in this context, but underused. In particular, immigrant studies of suicide with a continental European host country are unavailable. The correspondence of suicide prevalence among 22 immigrant groups in Austria (1970–2006) with those of the homelands during the same period was analyzed. Immigrant and homeland suicide rates were significantly positively associated. Controls for age of suicide victim, immigrant group size, national pride, and quality of life in the homelands left the finding essentially unchanged. This correspondence of immigrant and country-of-birth suicide rates is consistent with the assumption of population differences in the prevalence of genetic risk factors for suicide, for which there is emerging evidence.

Keywords: Suicide, Risk factors, Genetics, Genetic epidemiology, Migrant study, Immigrants, Austria