Luz do sol e suicídio: evidências dessa relação no Rio Grande do Sul a partir do horário de verão

Abstract

The objective of this work is to verify if a positive change in the time of exposure to daily sunlight affects the incidence of suicide. The article is theoretically based on public health literature that suggests that this climate variable appears to affect reported cases of the event worldwide. Methodologically, we used data on deaths from southern Brazil, over a period of 10 years, and a discontinuous regression design to test the hypothesis that longer exposure to late-day sunlight, resulting from the date of introduction daylight savings time, was reflected in an increase in suicide deaths. The results found suggest that there seems to be a positive causal effect in the southernmost state of the country: Rio Grande do Sul.