| Effect of a barrier at Bloor Street Viaduct on suicide rates in Toronto: natural experiment. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 20605890 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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OBJECTIVE: To determine whether rates of suicide changed in Toronto after a barrier was erected at Bloor Street Viaduct, the bridge with the world's second highest annual rate of suicide by jumping after Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. DESIGN: Natural experiment. SETTING: City of Toronto and province of Ontario, Canada; records at the chief coroner's office of Ontario 1993-2001 (nine years before the barrier) and July 2003-June 2007 (four years after the barrier). PARTICIPANTS: 14 789 people who completed suicide in the city of Toronto and in Ontario. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Changes in yearly rates of suicide by jumping at Bloor Street Viaduct, other bridges, and buildings, and by other means. RESULTS: Yearly rates of suicide by jumping in Toronto remained unchanged between the periods before and after the construction of a barrier at Bloor Street Viaduct (56.4 v 56.6, P=0.95). A mean of 9.3 suicides occurred annually at Bloor Street Viaduct before the barrier and none after the barrier (P<0.01). Yearly rates of suicide by jumping from other bridges and buildings were higher in the period after the barrier although only significant for other bridges (other bridges: 8.7 v 14.2, P=0.01; buildings: 38.5 v 42.7, P=0.32). CONCLUSIONS: Although the barrier prevented suicides at Bloor Street Viaduct, the rate of suicide by jumping in Toronto remained unchanged. This lack of change might have been due to a reciprocal increase in suicides from other bridges and buildings. This finding suggests that Bloor Street Viaduct may not have been a uniquely attractive location for suicide and that barriers on bridges may not alter absolute rates of suicide by jumping when comparable bridges are nearby. |
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Authors:
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Mark Sinyor; Anthony J Levitt |
Publication Detail:
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Type: Journal Article Date: 2010-07-06 |
Journal Detail:
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Title: BMJ (Clinical research ed.) Volume: 341 ISSN: 1756-1833 ISO Abbreviation: BMJ Publication Date: 2010 |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2010-07-07 Completed Date: 2010-07-19 Revised Date: 2012-03-06 |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 8900488 Medline TA: BMJ Country: England |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: c2884 Citation Subset: AIM; IM |
Affiliation:
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Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, ON, Canada. mark.sinyor@utoronto.ca |
Export Citation:
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| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
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Adult Environment Design* Epidemiologic Methods Female Humans Male Middle Aged Ontario Protective Devices Residence Characteristics Suicide / prevention & control*, statistics & numerical data |
| Comments/Corrections | |
Comment In:
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BMJ. 2010;341:c4447
[PMID:
20724410
]
BMJ. 2010;341:c3054 [PMID: 20605891 ] |
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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